LILAMA “SOLDIERS” IN GLOBAL GREEN ENERGY MARKET

LILAMA workers combines and adjusts hydrogen electrolytic modules equipment

Labour Hero Le Van Tuan – LILAMA President & CEO said that, in the cooperation with Thyssenkrupp (GE), LILAMA engineers and workers rapidly stated a position in the global chain of hydrogen production, making contribution into Net Zero target that Vietnam is reaching for, at the same time owning great chances of participation in next projects of the kind in the coming time.

Combining and assembling equipment for green hydrogen projects

In the beginning of 2021, Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Saudi Arabia) had first launched the idea of The Line – an environmentally-friendly “vertical city” project along a linear axis connecting The Red Sea and North-western Saudi Arabia stretching 170km, in which a chain of gigantic cities and infrastructure works applied state-of-the-art technologies would be built.

This is a revolutionary project that human factor is given the first priority, inducing 100% clean renewable energy generated from wind and solar farm and advanced technology in transforming water into oxygen and hydrogen in service for livings and transportation.

The Line project has an investment estimated of 100-200 billion USD funded by Saudi Arabia Government, Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other international and local investor.

The Line is a first graft in the mega project picture and plays a role of a vertebral column of the “supercity” called NEOM meant New Future of which, the combination of “Neos” as “new” in Greece and “Mustaqbal” as “future” in Arabic.

The supercity NEOM has a colossal investment of about 500 billion USD (equal to over 12.3 million billion VND), which is located in dessert within Tabuk of Saudi Arabia, near the boundary with Jordan and Egypt with an area of 26,500km2.

As The Line utilizes green renewable energy in all living activities, it will become an ideal paradise of residence and resorts, also the world IT center which is expected to attract 100 million tourist arrivals annually, create about 380,000 jobs, and increase the national GDP of Saudi Arabia to 48 billion USD by the year of 2023.

As soon as Prince Mohammed released The Line idea, NEOM was officially warmed up construction.

A budget of 8.4 billion USD (equal to 210 thousand billion VND) spent to invest the NEOM Green Hydrogen Production Plant – the biggest project of this kind in the world was the first work to do, using 100% green renewable sources from wind and solar and supply about 600 hydrogen per day for transport means and heavy industry factories which helps to reduce carbon-emission at 5 million tons per year.

Particularly, the Owner of the project - Air Products Company (USA) had signed an EPC contract with Thyssenkrupp AG on supplying 110 electrolytic modules for green hydrogen production plant with a total capacity of 2.2GMW.

For the past time, Thyssenkrupp had successfully cooperated with LILAMA in constructing A/U Fertilizer Production Plant Project in Brunei as the contractor of mechanical fabrication and installation work, therefore they really trusted to choose LILAMA as the contractor in steel structure manufacturing and combining 100 electrolytic modules for NEOM plant.

Mr. Jose Soares, Performance Manager of Thyssenkrupp Nucera said that, LILAMA had affirmed their capability and prestige as a leading business in machinery field, so he strongly believed their cooperation would make more high value quality products in future.

Asserting mechanical manufacturing capacity

To deploy this project, LILAMA exposed deep interest and highly focused all resources on such as mobilization of 1000 labours of engineers and workers involved; making use of two large factories for fabrication workshops including LILAMA 10 Structure Manufacturing Factory in Hai Duong province and the hired one of Pha Rung in Thuy Nguyen commune, Hai Phong city for production.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh – Manager of Performance Department of LILAMA GH2 PMB said that, Thyssenkrupp held the copyright on electrolytic technology of green hydrogen plant, each module designed having dimensions of 55mL x 5mW x 8mH, weighing about 200 tons and comprising of thousands of sophisticated components and accessories was combined and assembled at LILAMA workshops. A completed module required high preciseness with tolerance under 2mm, insider of every pipeline must be absolutely clean because just only one grain of sand remained could cause burning risk leading harm for equipment when working.

When delivery to Saudi Arabia, it is very simple and easy to combine these modules together. By August of 2025, LILAMA expects to finish the supply of 110 modules.

Visiting LILAMA workshop in Hai Duong, we met Tran Huu Cao – a LILAMA skillful worker specialized in thermal process, steel structure straightening work after welding, who could acknowledge in which time and how long steel structures needed being flamed and adjusted conforming with the designs process requirement. With ten-year experience working in LILAMA, Cao also trained a succeeding skillful generation team who are competent in performing and dealing with problem-solving after he retired.

According to Manager Binh, before carrying out the NEOM contract, LILAMA teams, under the active support of Thyssenkrupp, had successfully produced and tested two first modules of the same kind for the West Coast Green Hydrogen Plant in USA that also took them one year to tinker for completion.

Remarkably, from the above situation as “getting started is the hardest part”, LILAMA accumulated a lot of practical experience to promote and optimize performing methods, helping raise productivity in executing mass production in this field.

Under the contract, 110 modules shall be divided into 24 Lots for shipment, each Lot comprises 4-6 modules. Up to now, LILAMA has exported 4 Lots (including 16 modules), and the next 2 Lots shall be delivered in the coming time. At present, LILAMA is meeting the client’s requirement upon the schedule by handing over 5 to 6 modules completed monthly, and makes the production a closed loop process.

Mr. President Tuan said that, the participation in manufacturing electrolytic modules for the NEOM Hydrogen plant has opened a new right orientation for LILAMA within the context of the domestic mechanical industry as well as enterprises met such so much challenges in business operation as now.

During implementing the Neom project, LILAMA has rapidly caught up the new business strategy oriented with power transition globalwide, reaching the net-zero green and sustainable energy sources development.

As a result, the valued experience LILAMA accumulated through hydrogen projects shall expectingly support Vietnamese mechanical industry in the development of clean and sustainable energy system, making contribution into the national power security, climate resilience and realizing Vietnam’s commitment of carbon-emission reduction stated at COP26.