BKPM: Australian Investors Plan to Build pCAM Facilities in Indonesia

Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Investment and Industrialization said that Australian battery material processing technology company Pure Battery Technologies (PBT) plans to build a Cathode Active Material (pCAM) precursor facility in Indonesia with an investment of 350 million US dollars.

The investment plan was discussed in a meeting between Deputy Minister of Investment and Industrialization/Deputy Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Todotua Pasaribu with Pure Battery Technologies Chairman Stephen Wilmot, accompanied by Director of the Indonesia Investment Promotion Center (IIPC) Sydney Leidy Surianingrat, at the IIPC Sydney Office, Australia.

In an official statement, quoted by Antara in Jakarta, Thursday, July 2, Todotua said at the meeting, the local government explained its plan to develop the pCAM industry based on Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) supplied from domestic High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) facilities, with the long-term goal of building a pCAM production facility in Indonesia worth 350 million US dollars.

"Indonesia already has HPAL and will soon have battery cell manufacturing. The remaining links are pCAM and cathodes. This is where investments such as Pure Battery Technologies are crucial to complete a fully integrated battery ecosystem," said Todotua.

According to him, the presence of this investment will complete the national battery industry value chain, ranging from nickel, Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP), pCAM, cathode, to battery cells. This step is also believed to strengthen Indonesia's competitiveness as a center of the electric vehicle ecosystem.

The government considers pCAM investment to have a strategic role because it is able to fill the gap in the battery industry supply chain at the midstream stage while increasing the added value of nickel commodities in the country.

Currently, the battery precursor stage has not yet been developed in Indonesia, although it is one of the segments with the highest value creation in the nickel industry chain.

Director IIPC Sydney Leidy Surianingrat stated that his party would continue to support the process of realizing the investment, including coordinating with various stakeholders and potential strategic partners.

"IIPC Sydney is committed to continuing to facilitate Pure Battery Technologies' investment journey in Indonesia, by connecting the company to relevant government stakeholders and strategic partners, as well as supporting the next steps towards project realization," said Leidy.

In addition to discussing investment plans, both parties also discussed the establishment of a PBT legal entity in Indonesia, the option of the location of the production facility, financing schemes, as well as opportunities for strategic partnerships in the nickel mining and processing sector.