Indonesia Builds Lithium and Anode Factories to Complete the Nickel-Made EV Battery Industry

Deputy Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Septian Hario Seto (photo: kemenkomarinves)

JAKARTA – Deputy Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Septian Hario Seto, said on Tuesday, November 29 that the government is currently building a lithium factory and anode material production facilities to complement the nickel-based battery material industry.

This development is expected to make Indonesia a center for the manufacture of electric vehicles (EV). Investors are currently building a lithium hydroxide plant with a capacity of 60.000 tons in the heart of the nickel industry in Morowali.

An anode material factory with a capacity of 80.000 tons will begin construction in January 2023. Both of these materials are needed to make EV batteries.

"We are building an ecosystem, so we don't only produce nickel and cobalt-based components," said Seto.

According to Seto, the government has now started producing EV battery parts extracted from nickel, but other materials are also needed to produce EV batteries. However, Indonesia currently does not have its own lithium mine. It is not yet known where the lithium ore for the factory will come from.

Indonesia itself has banned exports of unprocessed nickel to attract domestic investment and secure materials for domestic production of nickel metal and battery materials.

Of course it will be interesting to wait for the government's seriousness in pursuing energy transformation by converting fossil-powered vehicles into battery-powered and sustainable energy.

However, the government's plan to build an electric car factory has yet to be revealed. Only the EV battery factory has been touted from the start.