Overcoming Financing Barriers for Hydrogen and CCUS Projects
Speaker: Jordan Chew, Azimut Capital Singapore
Presented at: HCMUNRE – VAHC – Azimut Workshop, 20 May 2025
Executive Summary
As the world accelerates toward net-zero emissions by 2050, new clean technologies like Low Carbon Hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) are seen as critical solutions. However, deploying these technologies at scale faces deep financial, regulatory, and capability-related barriers.
A BCG survey of over 100 experts—including banks, investors, and energy executives—shows that hydrogen and CCUS differ from renewables due to their market immaturity, policy gaps, and technical complexities. This presentation by Mr. Jordan Chew emphasizes the need for policy support, financial innovation, and industry capability development to unlock over $13 trillion in private capital.
Key Financing Barriers
| Barrier | Description |
|---|---|
| Merchant/Offtake Risk | Lack of long-term offtake agreements; difficulty securing buyers |
| Policy Risk | Unclear regulations and liability issues, especially for CO₂ storage |
| Capability Gap | Banks lack risk models and data for evaluating hydrogen and CCUS |
| Technology Risk | Technologies are still seen as emerging or unproven in scale |
Unlike renewables, hydrogen and CCUS involve physical molecules (not electrons), lack global carbon/hydrogen standards, and operate in fragmented regulatory regimes.
Vietnam’s Role and Strategy
Vietnam has introduced a national strategy (Decision No. 165/QD-TTg, 7 Feb 2024) to:
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Build a green hydrogen value chain from production to export
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Deploy CCUS technologies by 2030
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Position itself as a regional clean energy hub by 2050
However, unlocking investment requires bridging the gap between policy ambition and bankability of projects.
Solutions
1. Policy Support
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Harmonize hydrogen and carbon standards globally
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Create clear CO₂ storage liability frameworks
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Provide public funding or guarantees for early-stage projects
2. Innovative Financing
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Green bonds and blended finance
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Public-private partnerships (PPP)
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De-risking mechanisms for commercial lenders
Azimut’s Role and Strategy
Azimut Capital Singapore and its partners are focused on:
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Structuring bankable clean energy projects
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Catalyzing green capital through private funds and bonds
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Partnering with local stakeholders to deploy hydrogen and CCUS at scale
“We must make hydrogen and carbon capture as bankable as solar was 10 years ago.” — Jordan Chew
✅ Conclusion
To transition from vision to reality, stakeholders must align:
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Governments must lead with regulation and support
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Investors and financiers must innovate in funding models
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Project developers must integrate bankability from day one
For more information, please email: contact@vahc.com.vn
