By Fransiska Nangoy
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Wednesday launched a plant built by China’s BTR New Material Group and Singapore’s Stellar Investment that will produce anode materials for EV batteries.
In the first phase, the companies invested $478 million for the plant that will produce 80,000 metric tons of materials per year, according to the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment Affairs.
Indonesia has an ambition to build a domestic electric vehicle industry, taking advantage of its rich mineral resources, especially nickel, an important material for battery cathode.
“Our decision several years back to develop a big EV ecosystem is starting to materialise in Indonesia, starting when we banned export of raw nickel in 2020,” Jokowi said at the launching of the plant in Kendal, Central Java.
For the anode plant, BTR would process graphite products from its Morowali plant into the anode material.
BTR is expected to start construction of the second phase of the anode material plant in the fourth quarter this year, senior minister Luhut Pandjaitan said, to double the capacity to 160,000 tons annually.
