Vietnam – One of ASEAN’s Three Emerging Hydrogen Stars (according to IEA 2025) and the journey to find practical pathways for project collaboration
At the thematic discussion session organized by the Vietnam–ASEAN Hydrogen Club (VAHC), the topic “Vietnam – One of ASEAN’s Three Emerging Hydrogen Stars and Pathways to Real-World Project Collaboration” was placed in a particularly important context. The Global Hydrogen Review 2025 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), recently published, for the first time dedicates an entire chapter to assessing hydrogen potential in ASEAN, in which Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia are identified as the three “emerging stars” with the ability to shape the region’s hydrogen market in the coming decade.
According to IEA’s analysis, Vietnam possesses a rare combination of advantages: abundant coastal renewable energy resources, rapidly growing domestic hydrogen demand in the refining – fertilizer – steel sectors, and especially a favorable geographical position for exporting hydrogen, ammonia or e-fuel to clean-energy-hungry markets in Northeast Asia such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore. This places Vietnam in the position that IEA evaluates as “having sufficient potential to become the hydrogen production and transit hub of the Indochina Peninsula.”
Mr. Minh raises questions that go straight to the everyday bottlenecks of the hydrogen sector
Moderating the discussion, Mr. Le Ngoc Anh Minh, Chairman of the Vietnam–ASEAN Hydrogen Club (VAHC), did not focus on theoretical questions but went straight to the “very real bottlenecks.” He observed that while wind power, solar power or battery storage can be deployed quickly because the processes of quotation – technical exchange – negotiation are fairly clear, hydrogen is “slow right from the first step.”
Mr. Minh asked:
“Customers want a quotation, but before reviewing technical documents they require signing an NDA. An NDA can take 3–6 weeks to finalize. For hydrogen projects, every week matters. This burdensome process causes everything to get stuck from the starting point. If we do not resolve these very practical obstacles, the hydrogen sector will struggle to create breakthroughs.”
These straightforward questions paved the way for an in-depth discussion among the four international and domestic speakers.
Obayashi Corporation: Ready to bring the New Zealand – Fiji model to Vietnam
Representing Obayashi Corporation, Mr. Rinkou Aki shared that the corporation already has practical experience operating a green hydrogen chain from domestic production to successful shipment to Fiji, and is preparing liquefied transport to Singapore and Japan.
In Vietnam, Obayashi plans to establish a green hydrogen pilot project with a similar model:
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domestic production,
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consumption in industrial zones and transportation,
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and at the same time, testing exports to Singapore and Japan through shorter and lower-cost sea routes compared with New Zealand.
Obayashi believes that Vietnam can completely develop into a green hydrogen supply point if pilot projects are allowed to be deployed quickly.
Kanadevia: E-fuel as the key to decarbonizing heavy industry
Ms. Natsumi Takayama, member of the Hydrogen Division, and Dr. Nguyen Phuc Thanh, Director of the Hanoi Branch of Kanadevia Corporation, introduced the e-fuel model the company is pursuing. This technology captures CO₂ from cement, steel, glass and coal-fired power plants, then combines it with hydrogen to create synthetic methane (CH₄).
According to them, this solution can be studied and piloted in Vietnam to create breakthroughs in addressing emissions at the root for heavy-emitting industries where full electrification is impossible.
Neuman & Esser: The vision of a North–South Hydrogen Highway
From the infrastructure perspective, Dr. Hao Ngo, APAC Strategic Director of Neuman & Esser, proposed forming a North–South Hydrogen Highway. The idea includes:
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building a hydrogen pipeline integrated with the high-speed rail corridor, or
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deploying a network of production hubs – hydrogen refueling stations along the North–South expressway.
Mr. Minh added that this model could create a fueling system for heavy-duty trucks, interprovincial passenger coaches… enabling cross-country transport without emissions, while taking advantage of coastal wind and solar potential.
A direction for collaboration: VAHC proposes conducting studies on 3 projects suggested by the speakers
With the participation of representatives from NEDO (Japan), Mr. Minh proposed that the authorities consider supporting the promotion of three project groups suggested by the speakers:
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The hydrogen production – consumption – export chain following the Obayashi model.
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The North–South Hydrogen Highway proposed by Neuman & Esser.
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E-fuel from CO₂ according to the solution by Kanadevia.
VAHC will compile all discussions into a detailed report to be submitted to relevant authorities and international partners, creating a foundation for hydrogen cooperation in the 2026–2030 period.
