Electric Cars Are Selling Hard, Aluminum Consumption Is Predicted To Increase By 600 Percent

Director of Business Development Inalum Arif Haendra. (Photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI)

The main automotive sector for electric vehicles that are getting faster will make the downstream of bauxite into alumina and aluminum continue to grow.

PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum) projects that the increase in domestic demand is predicted to increase by 600 percent in the next 30 years.

This is based on the presentation of the Director of Business Development Inalum Arif Haendra in the Media Gathering of the Industrial Journalists Forum (Forwin) in Sentul, Bogor, West Java, Friday, November 14.

The data shows that Indonesia's aluminum consumption will increase by at least 600 percent in the next 30 years.

Especially for the development of EV Community which uses aluminum materials.

This further strengthens Indonesia's position, which is at an important momentum to strengthen the integrated aluminum industry from upstream to downstream.

"National aluminum consumption will increase very rapidly, especially because of the need for electric vehicle batteries and the construction of solar energy plants. One battery pack EV uses about 18 percent aluminum and the construction of solar plants requires about 21 tons of aluminum for every 1 MW. This need explains the urgency of accelerating downstreaming," he said.

On the other hand, it is stated that in the 2018-2024 period, the national aluminum supply still depends on imports of 54 percent, while Inalum's contribution is only 46 percent. This dependence is considered a challenge, considering that aluminum is strategic material for the industrial sector of the future.

Therefore, he said, the acceleration of downstreaming cannot be carried out by only one company.

The aluminum industry is an intensive energy sector that requires cross-ministerial support, including matters of energy, spatial planning, environment, financing and industrial regulation.

Arif explained that accelerating the construction of new smelters requires collaboration between the Ministry of SOEs, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of ATR/BPN and the West Kalimantan Regional Government as project sites.

"Aluminum is an energy-intensive industry. The consistency of electricity supply is even better if it is based on green energy as a determining factor in competitiveness. Therefore, government support is very important to ensure that all downstream projects can run quickly," he said.

As for the electric vehicle assembly industry, there are 7 electric bus manufacturers with a production capacity of 3,100 units per year, 9 electric car companies with a production capacity of 70,060 units per year and 66 two and three-wheeled vehicle companies with a production capacity of 2.37 million units per year.

The total investment of the three industries reached IDR 5.65 trillion, with the largest portion contributed by the electric car industry of IDR 4.12 trillion.

"Currently, there are 7 manufacturers for electric buses, 9 manufacturers for electric cars and 66 companies for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, with a total investment of IDR 5.6 trillion," explained the Director of Maritime Industry, Transportation Equipment and Defense Equipment (IMATAP) of the Ministry of Industry Mahardi Tunggul Wicaksono in a media discussion entitled Import BEV Incentive Polemic in Jakarta, Monday, August 25.

He revealed that there was an increase in the population of electric vehicles thanks to the provision of incentives for the acceleration program for the development of the electric vehicle ecosystem.

In 2024, the total population will reach 207,000 units, an increase of 78 percent compared to 2023 as many as 116,000 units.

"And until June this year, the population has reached approximately 270,000. Well, this consists of 4-wheeled electric vehicles, then there are also 2-wheelers of approximately 200,000 of that number. The rest, namely electric vehicles such as buses and other commercial vehicles," he concluded.