Indonesian Investment Minister and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (or BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia confirmed that the groundbreaking ceremony for a new electric vehicle battery plant, which is developed by state-owned Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) and South Korea’s LG, will be held in late-July or August 2021 in Bekasi (West Java).
The project starts with the construction of a cell battery plant. Lahadalia said the focus of the project is first on the development of downstream activities. Considering Indonesia is rich in nickel and cobalt the threat could be that these (semi-processed) raw materials are going to be exported to overseas electric battery manufacturers if Indonesia doesn’t develop its own integrated upstream-downstream electric vehicle battery industry ecosystem.