Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday 8 October launched 11 downstream projects worth a combined $10.2 billion at the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) in Central Halmahera, North Maluku. The ceremony on the island of Halmahera also marked the park’s first export of electric vehicle batteries and other finished products.
IWIP is one of the country’s largest nickel processing hubs, and the new plants push it further along the supply chain. Rosan Roeslani, chief executive of the sovereign investment agency Danantara, said the facilities would make “nickel-based battery materials, battery separators and electrolytes”, along with electrolytic aluminium, electric heavy trucks and photovoltaic glass. The government presents the projects as part of its plan to turn Indonesia into a major battery manufacturing centre as demand for electric vehicles grows.
Of the 11 projects, four worth $3.4 billion are entering commercial operation. They belong to PT Blue Sparking Energy, which processes nickel; PT REPT Battero Indonesia, a battery maker; PT Pioneer Aluminum Industries; and PT XCMG Indonesia Manufacturing, which builds heavy equipment. The other seven, valued at $6.8 billion, are still under construction, which means about two-thirds of the total investment has yet to come on stream.
The plants being built are PT Guang Ching Nickel Cobalt for nickel processing, PT Inno Prima Material for battery materials, PT Tinci Materials Indonesia for battery chemicals, PT Weda Bay Aluminium and PT Bintang Karya Aluminium for aluminium and aluminium products, PT Foton Guangqing Motor Indonesia for electric vehicles, and PT Flat Solar Energy Indonesia. The first shipments sent off at the ceremony included mixed hydroxide precipitate, nickel manganese cobalt and lithium iron phosphate battery materials from REPT Battero, electrolytic aluminium from Pioneer Aluminum and heavy equipment components from XCMG. Taken together, the projects run from nickel processing through battery chemicals and materials to finished electric vehicles, so the park now covers several stages of the battery and EV supply chain in one place. The launch adds processing capacity at a time when the government is also weighing a moratorium on new nickel smelters as global supply grows.
