Chinese battery giant to join $6-billion battery project in Indonesia
China’s largest battery producer, Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, plans to join two state-owned Indonesian companies to develop an electric-vehicle battery integration project with a total investment of $5.968 billion, capitalising on the bigger shift by the auto industry towards battery-powered vehicles and Indonesia’s ambitions to become a major hub for the industry.
A unit of Shenzhen-listed CATL and Indonesia’s PT Aneka Tambang and PT Industri Baterai Indonesia signed an agreement to develop the project in Indonesia’s North Maluku province and other parts of the country, the companies said in a joint statement on April 15. The main facility of the project will be located in the FHT Industrial Park of East Halmahera in North Maluku, an island which has a number of nickel and cobalt mines and processing facilities.
Focus on battery supply chain
The project will focus on nickel mining and processing, battery materials, battery manufacturing, as well as battery recycling, the statement said. It did, however, not clarify how much of the partners will invest each. The joint venture also still needs approval from the companies’ shareholders and from regulators.
Indonesia is aiming to become a major player in the electric vehicle supply chain based on its massive reserves of nickel and cobalt, vital materials for lithium-ion batteries which power everything from laptops to mobile phones to electric cars. CATL already has some involvement in Indonesia, while Chinese firms including Tsingshan Holding Group play a major role in the country’s nickel sector.
“Important milestone”
“The Indonesia project is an important milestone for CATL as we expand our global footprint, and it will become an emblem of the everlasting friendship between China and Indonesia,” Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of CATL, said in a statement, adding that “we are fully confident in the development of the project in the future.”
Zeng said the Indonesian project would ensure the supply of upstream raw materials and resources, cut manufacturing costs and promote the development of the battery recycling business.
China’s largest battery producer, Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, plans to join two state-owned Indonesian companies to develop an electric-vehicle battery integration project with a total investment of $5.968 billion, capitalising on the bigger shift by the auto industry towards battery-powered vehicles and Indonesia’s ambitions to become a major hub for the industry. A unit of Shenzhen-listed CATL and Indonesia’s PT Aneka Tambang and PT Industri Baterai Indonesia signed an agreement to develop the project in Indonesia’s North Maluku province and other parts of the country, the companies said in a joint statement on April 15. The main facility of...
China’s largest battery producer, Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, plans to join two state-owned Indonesian companies to develop an electric-vehicle battery integration project with a total investment of $5.968 billion, capitalising on the bigger shift by the auto industry towards battery-powered vehicles and Indonesia’s ambitions to become a major hub for the industry.
A unit of Shenzhen-listed CATL and Indonesia’s PT Aneka Tambang and PT Industri Baterai Indonesia signed an agreement to develop the project in Indonesia’s North Maluku province and other parts of the country, the companies said in a joint statement on April 15. The main facility of the project will be located in the FHT Industrial Park of East Halmahera in North Maluku, an island which has a number of nickel and cobalt mines and processing facilities.
Focus on battery supply chain
The project will focus on nickel mining and processing, battery materials, battery manufacturing, as well as battery recycling, the statement said. It did, however, not clarify how much of the partners will invest each. The joint venture also still needs approval from the companies’ shareholders and from regulators.
Indonesia is aiming to become a major player in the electric vehicle supply chain based on its massive reserves of nickel and cobalt, vital materials for lithium-ion batteries which power everything from laptops to mobile phones to electric cars. CATL already has some involvement in Indonesia, while Chinese firms including Tsingshan Holding Group play a major role in the country’s nickel sector.
“Important milestone”
“The Indonesia project is an important milestone for CATL as we expand our global footprint, and it will become an emblem of the everlasting friendship between China and Indonesia,” Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of CATL, said in a statement, adding that “we are fully confident in the development of the project in the future.”
Zeng said the Indonesian project would ensure the supply of upstream raw materials and resources, cut manufacturing costs and promote the development of the battery recycling business.
