CATL-Antam Battery Project Completed, Bahlil Says Ready to be Inaugurated in July

JAKARTA - The government reported that the battery downstream project for electric vehicles, which was carried out together with the Chinese company CATL and PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam), has been completed and is ready to enter the inauguration phase.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said the development was conveyed directly to President Prabowo Subianto in a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Monday, June 22.

"We report to the President that the downstream program for the car battery ecosystem in which CATL and Antam cooperate has been completed. Insyaallah it will be inaugurated at the end of July," said Bahlil.

The project is one of the important parts of the industrial downstream agenda for mineral industries that has been encouraged by the government for the past few years.

According to Bahlil, the evaluation of a number of downstream projects that are already underway is one of the main agendas of the meeting with the President.

The completion of this battery project is considered an important milestone because Indonesia has been trying to build an electric vehicle supply chain from upstream to downstream by utilizing large nickel reserves.

However, Bahlil has not detailed the schedule or location of the inauguration of the project.

The government hopes that the project will strengthen Indonesia's position in the global electric vehicle battery industry while increasing the added value of mineral resources in the country.