Lithium Battery Baku Material For Electric Cars, Kekayaan Karun Which Is Delegated In Indonesia

Illustration of the raw material for electric vehicle batteries (Unsplash/@namco)

YOGYAKARTA - One of the causes of the high price of electric cars is the battery. The raw materials for the manufacture of lithium batteries cannot be obtained easily and carelessly. The raw materials for electric vehicle batteries must be mined and through a long processing process.

The number of electric vehicles, both cars or motorbikes that are currently being sold, uses lithium battery fuel. This battery serves to store energy to run electric vehicles. This lithium battery is different from the battery in an internal combustion engine vehicle or called a battery.

The batteries used by electric vehicles are more sophisticated and stronger. But the price is also the same high, it can cost 10% to 50% of the overall price of the car. Indonesia itself is a neagra that has abundant stock of lithium battery raw materials.

The batteries used in electric vehicles are made of a number of raw materials such as cobalt and nickel. Indonesia is said to have a very large amount of nickel reserves and is predicted to be able to take a strategic role in the development of electric vehicles.

Nickel is a mining product that is included in the category of high-value metals. Nickel is created from the results of plant residues or living things that have been buried in the ground millions of years ago. This eyed metal has a tough but easy nature to shape, and is stainless.

The country is said to be the largest nickel seed producing country in the world. The world's nickel production reached 2,668,000 tons Ni in 2019 and Indonesia contributed 800,000 tons of Ni. From this figure, it can be calculated if Indonesia becomes the largest nickel-producing country..

Nickel is also the raw material for lithium batteries used on mobile phones or other electronic equipment. The lithium battery is an eco-friendly product because its nature can be recharged.

There are several large producers of nickel in Indonesia. Based on records, the control of domestic nickel products is held by the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP). The company controls downstream nickel production of up to 50%, according to data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in 2020.

There are actually several types of batteries that can be used for electric vehicles, such as Nickel-Metal Hybrid,lted Lead Acid (SLA), or Ultracapacitor. But most electric vehicle products have to use lithium batteries.

One of the reasons for using lithium batteries is because it has a ratio between weight and good energy. The weight of each vehicle component affects its performance. The use of lithium batteries allows manufacturers to use fewer battery cells than other types of batteries to accommodate the same kWh.

With the advantage of these batteries, electric vehicle manufacturers can keep their production cars from overweighting. In addition, another reason for using this battery is that it has a low self-discharge level. This means that the battery does not drop quickly.

Litium batteries are divided into several types. There are 6 types that are quite recognized to date, including:

The type of lithium battery that is considered to have the best quality or specifications is NCA. Tesla electric vehicles use NCA batteries. The manufacture of NCA batteries in nickel raw materials dominates compared to other raw materials.

However, many experts say that the LFP lithium battery is more suitable for the use of electric vehicles in Indonesia because the climate is very sensitive to the weather.

That's information about the raw material for electric vehicle batteries. Indonesia has abundant raw materials for electric batteries. Of course, this is very supportive for the climate of electric vehicles in the country.

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