Consultancy Services for Process Design and Equipment Layout of the Biochar Production Facility in Vietnam under DFCD

Background

HUSK Vietnam is a climate-focused agribusiness company that develops and deploys innovative biochar-based solutions to improve soil health, enhance agricultural productivity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Working closely with smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, HUSK integrates sustainable technologies into agricultural value chains to support climate resilience, carbon sequestration, and improved livelihoods.

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) is managed by a consortium comprising FMO, Climate Fund Managers (CFM), WWF-Netherlands, and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. DFCD provides finance and Technical Assistance (TA) to enable, mobilize, and scale private sector investment for climate-smart development.

Under the DFCD origination facility, HUSK is implementing an origination project to support the development of “Soil Health through Biochar Fertilizer”, including the assessment and preparation of a biochar production facility.

Objective of the assignment

The objective of this assignment is to develop the technical process design and equipment layout for the proposed biochar production facility in Vietnam. The consultant will provide the necessary technical documentation describing the production process, major pyrolysis equipment specifications, plant layout, operational parameters, and preliminary electrical requirements.

The outputs of this assignment will provide the technical basis for subsequent project development activities, including the Investment Policy Decision (IPD), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and other regulatory approvals required for the construction and operation of the facility.

Scope of work

The Consultant will be responsible for completing the following tasks:

Task 1: Review of Project Inputs

• Review available project documentation, including proposed production capacity, feedstock types, and site characteristics.
• Assess suitable biochar production technologies and process configurations for the project.
• Define key design assumptions and technical parameters.

Task 2: Biochar Production Process Design

• Develop the conceptual production process for the biochar facility.
• Prepare Process Flow Diagrams (PFD) describing key process stages, including feedstock preparation, pyrolysis, biochar handling, and storage.
• Estimate production outputs, by-products, and energy requirements.

Task 3: Equipment Review and Integration

• Review technical specifications of the existing biochar production equipment provided by HUSK.
• Verify equipment capacity, footprint, and installation requirements.
• Integrate the equipment into the process design and plant layout.
• Identify additional supporting equipment required for plant operation.

Task 4: Preliminary Plant Layout

• Develop a preliminary plant layout showing key functional areas including: feedstock receiving and storage, production units, biochar handling and storage, utilities and supporting infrastructure.
• Ensure the layout supports safe operation, material flow efficiency & regulatory compliance.

Task 5: Preliminary Utility and Electrical Requirements

• Estimate key utility requirements, including electricity demand, water consumption, and other utilities required for the facility.
• Identify major electrical loads associated with the production process.
• Develop preliminary electrical load estimation and conceptual power distribution to support the plant layout and equipment configuration.

Expected experiences and qualifications

The assignment is open to qualified Consulting Firms or Individual Consultants with demonstrated experience in industrial process design in Vietnam.

For Consulting Firms:

• Legally registered consulting firm.
• 5+ YOE in industrial engineering, process design, or facility design.
• Proven experience in designing biomass processing, biochar production, or similar agricultural processing facilities is preferred.
• Availability of qualified technical experts in process engineering or industrial facility design.

For Individual Consultants:

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ YOE in industrial process or facility design.
• Experience with biochar production systems or biomass-based processing facilities is preferred.
• Ability to work independently under time constraints, with minimal supervision, while delivering high-quality outputs.
• Extensive hands-on experience working with private companies, cooperatives, and local authorities, with strong stakeholder coordination skills throughout project preparation, permitting, and construction phases.
• Fluency in Vietnamese and English, with excellent technical writing & communication skills.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Interested Consulting Firms and Individual Consultants are invited to submit the following documents via the instructions in this site.

For Consulting Firms:

• Company Profile;
• List of relevant projects demonstrating experience in industrial process or facility design;
• Curriculum vitae (CVs) of key experts proposed for the assignment.
• A completed Due Diligence document, along with all required supporting documents, click https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/2315ab77-f7f7-4a73-ad76-03fbae21e136?r=s3-eu-central-1

For Individual Consultants:

• Updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting relevant experience;
• Copies of academic qualifications and relevant professional certificates;
• A completed Due Diligence document, along with all required supporting documents, click https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/f5ded8d0-ff6d-4729-ac35-e98a75c650d1?r=s3-eu-central-1

EOIs are accepted until April 15th, 2025.

Selection process

This tender process will take place in two stages. Stage one is an Expression of Interest. Those selected from the Expression of Interest stage will move forward to the Full Proposal Stage and receive a second assignment description ahead of being asked to prepare a more detailed proposal submission for the assignment.

SNV reserves the right to exclude any EOIs that do not meet the guidelines. Please note that HUSK is unable to provide detailed feedback to those EOIs that are not selected.

Protection of Information

We request that Expressions of Interest responses be free of any intellectual property that the applicant wishes to protect. Should offerors wish to include proprietary intellectual property that they believe would be helpful for SNV, please note the proprietary nature of such information.

Issuance of this EOI does not constitute a commitment, award, or engagement on the part of HUSK nor does it commit HUSK to any future commitment or engagement. 

Note: HUSK reserves the right to change or cancel this requirement in the EOI/or solicitation process at any time.