A UK firm is helping to bring 200MW of ‘rice power’ to Vietnam after teaming up with a Malaysian company.

The new project worth 1.94 billion Malaysian ringgit (£384m) is to build 20 biomass plants in Vietnam.

The 10MW plants will be fuelled by rice husks using a combustion system developed by the UK’s Torftech. The firm said the system will produce “non-hazardous high quality ash” that can be used in place of cement to strengthen concrete.

Torftech is licensing the technology to CHE Group, which will manufacture the systems in Malaysia. A joint venture between the two  called TORCHE Energy will be the main contractor.

The biomass plants will be installed over five years in six Vietnamese provinces. Construction is set to begin by the end of 2013.

As well as displacing fossil fuel use, the project should also cut greenhouse gas emissions by preventing rice husks from being burnt in the open to get rid of the waste.

Douglas Barnes, HM Consul General and Director of UK Trade and Investment in Vietnam said: “The emerging biomass and waste to energy markets in Vietnam show enormous potential and it is encouraging that British, Malaysian and Vietnamese companies have collaborated to develop appropriate technologies to meet the anticipated rapidly growing demands in this market sector.”