Bahlil: Lithium Karawang Battery Factory Can Support Production Of 300,000 EVs

Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board, Bahlil Lahadalia in the Artha Industrial Hills (AIH) Area, Karawang Regency, West Java, Sunday, June 29, 2025 (Maria/VOI)

KARAWANG Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board, Bahlil Lahadalia, said that the electric vehicle battery factory (EV) with a capacity of 15 GWh which was recently groundbreaking by President Prabowo Subianto in Karawang, was able to supply batteries for around 250,000 to 300,000 electric vehicles.

"These 15 GWh are equivalent to batteries for around 250,000", Bahlil said in his report to President Prabowo in the Artha Industrial Hills (AIH) area, Karawang Regency, West Java, Sunday, June 29.

This factory is part of one of the projects in the Integrated Electric Battery Industry Ecosystem scheme run by the ANTAM, IBC, and CBL consortiums. The area is also planned to be equipped with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility that functions to store energy from solar power plants, although its capacity has not been explained in detail.

Bahlil said that this project, previously known as the Dragon Project, had gone through a four-year negotiation process with SOE Minister Erick Thohir and SOE Deputy Minister Kartiko Wirjoatmodjo. He admitted that the process had been tough because of the different views between SOEs and investors.

"From the start, we have coordinated with the Ministry of Industry. SOEs want A, CBL wants B. Finally we become good referees," said Bahlil.

According to Bahlil, after the direction from President Prabowo in a limited meeting, the project process was accelerated. "On that order, we from the Task Force immediately executed. There are no more problems. And today we can both watch the groundbreaking together," he said.

For information, this battery ecosystem project is included in the list of National Strategic Projects (PSN) with an investment value of up to 5.9 billion US dollars. This project covers 3,023 hectares of land, has the potential to absorb up to 8,000 direct workers, and includes the construction of 18 infrastructure projects including multifunctional piers.

This area prioritizes integrated and environmentally friendly industrial development with energy support from a combination of power plants: PLTU 2 \times150 MW, PLTG 80 MW, a 30 MW hot waste (waste heat) plant, and a 172 MWp solar power plant. Meanwhile, the battery factory in Karawang will also implement PLTS of 24 MWp.

The first phase lithium-ion battery factory with a capacity of 6.9 GWh was built through a joint venture between Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) and the CATL, Brunp, and Lygned (CBL) Consortium, which is a subsidiary of the world's largest battery company, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL).

This joint venture company is named PT Contemporary Amperex Technology Indonesia Battery (CATIB) and will supply batteries for battery-based electric vehicles and energy storage systems. This development is part of the Grand Package of the Integrated Battery Industry Ecosystem Project by PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, IBC, and CBL.