Copenhagen Offshore Partners opens new office in Hanoi

The formal opening of their new office was held on Oct. 31 in Hanoi, and witnessed by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and representatives from the Danish Embassy to Vietnam.

Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP) is a leading and experienced provider of project development, construction management, and operational management services for offshore wind projects across the globe. COP project manages all of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) global offshore wind assets.

The company is headquartered in Denmark and has offices in Taiwan, the U.S., Australia, Japan, Korea, U.K. and Vietnam.

Frederik, crown prince of Denmark, at COP’s new office in Hanoi. Photo by COP

His Excellency Nicolai Prytz, Danish ambassador to Vietnam, said: “COP and CIP are stepping up their local presence in Vietnam, which clearly shows their strong commitment in the Vietnamese market. Offshore wind is a very promising sector and could potentially not only provide sufficient clean energy to support growth in Vietnam, but could also turn Vietnam into a net exporter of clean energy. We all look forward to having the necessary legal framework in place, paving the way for leading investors and developers like COP and CIP to progress further with their projects.”

The commercial counsellor at the Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam and representatives from CIP/COP join the opening ceremony. Photo by COP

Copenhagen Offshore Partners established their new office in the Pacific Place building on Ly Thuong Kiet Street, located in the heart of the capital’s iconic Hoan Kiem District in a larger building with facilities for 35+ staff, multiple meeting rooms and function rooms and open areas.

Stuart Livesey, country director and CEO of COP Vietnam, stated “Our new offices allow us to now get closer to key ministries such as the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and show our increased commitment to be supporting Vietnam in its offshore wind journey for the long-term.”

Seeing the potential of offshore wind power in Vietnam, CIP and COP set foot in the Vietnamese market in 2019 and are gradually asserting their influence in the immature offshore wind industry of Vietnam.

COP established its first office and company in Vietnam with only three key members. It has now expanded to 16 employees based in Vietnam and will continue to grow to support its development purposes. The new office will play an important role in providing the best ground for the COP team and showing its strong vision and commitment to contribute to the development of the offshore wind industry in Vietnam.

COP has now expanded to 16 employees based in Vietnam. Photo by COP

In Vietnam, CIP and COP are the main developers of the 3.5-gigawatt La Gan Offshore Wind Project in Binh Thuan Project. It has a total predicted investment of $10.5 billion, contributing over $4.4 billion into the Vietnamese economy throughout its project life. This project aims to be the first largest offshore wind project in Vietnam.

In addition, CIP and COP are developing further multi-GW of offshore wind pipeline in other provinces.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is a leading global investor in offshore wind and has raised over $19 billion across several renewable energy-focused funds, including the most recent CI Energy Transition Fund I – the world’s largest dedicated green hydrogen fund to date. CIP is also managing a fund specifically targeted at fast-growing major new economies and with a strong current focus on Vietnam.

As a pioneer investor in many emerging markets for OFW, CIP, along with our sister company COP, has had a strong track record of successful development, financial delivery, and operational wind projects, most notably the Changfang Xidao 600-megawatt Project in Taiwan, the Vineyard 800 MW Project in the U.S., the first large-scale OFW in the history of the country that achieved financial close of over $2.3 billion (September 2021).

In addition to developing the global portfolio of OFW projects, CIP and COP is also involved in the research and development of new renewable technologies, namely Power-to-X (including green hydrogen/ammonia), energy storage, energy islands, and power transmission.

Key Power-to-X projects include the 5-GW hydrogen Murchison project in Australia, the 1-GW Hoest project in Denmark, and the 1.7-GW green hydrogen HNH Project in Chile. Recently CIP has announced plan to develop 4 GW of battery energy storage in the U.K. CIP is also leading the development of Vindo, the world’s first energy island off the coast of Denmark.

By implementing the highest international standards, using the most advanced wind-power technology, CIP and COP’s goal is to secure Vietnam’s long-term energy needs and support the development of local industry in a sustainable way.

Phong Van