In July 2023, Japan’s renewable energy firm Erex Co., Ltd. and local partner Sakura Green Energy JSC commenced the construction of a USD 20 million biomass fuel plant in the mountainous province of Yen Bai, Vietnam. The manufacturing is set to be operational in the third quarter of 2025.
The three-hectare complex is expected to produce up to 150,000 tons of wood pellets and 305,000 tons of wood chip products annually. The pellets can be utilized as fuel for thermal power plants, heaters, food dryers, and others. The facility will provide biomass materials for an upcoming large-scale biomass power plant in the province, which is reported to be the first of its kind in Vietnam.
According to the general secretary of the Japan-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance, the factory will be the pioneer project for carbon decommissioning in Southeast Asia and will also boost biomass technology development in Vietnam.
Yen Bai province is accommodating three Japanese-invested projects worth USD 100.3 million. Erex is also considering three other projects in the province: a wood pellet factory, a biomass power plant, and one for the collection of wood byproducts, with a total registered investment of USD 127 million.
(Source: The Investor)