Indonesia, U.K. plan to build electric vehicle battery supply chain

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia and the United Kingdom (U.K.) plan to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain in the future, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said.

The joint investment cooperation will allow the two countries to build production facilities in both Indonesia and the U.K., Luhut said at the 2021 National Coordination Meeting and Investment Service Award here on Wednesday (Nov. 24).

The joint investment cooperation is expected to meet the demand for cathode and battery cells for electric vehicles in the U.K. and Europe.

Demand for cathodes and raw materials in Europe and the UK is expected to continue to increase until 2030.

The materials for electric vehicle batteries and battery precursors will be produced in Indonesia through an Indonesian-British joint investment company.

Furthermore, the materials will be used to supply material needs for a joint investment cathode company in the U.K.

The materials from Indonesia are then exported to a joint investment company in the U.K., which will become a producer of cathodes, battery cells and battery packs.

The process of nickel processing from ore to electric vehicle batteries is sequentially starting from nickel ores, nickel and cobalt sulfates, battery precursors, cathodes, battery cells and battery packs, ESS, charging stations to recycling.

Earlier, Indonesian President Joko Widodo held a meeting with a number of CEOs of British large companies.

On the sidelines of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP26), the Indonesian government successfully attained an investment commitment of 9.29 billion U.S. dollars, that would be earmarked for green investment.

At a meeting with the Indonesian heads of state, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed the U.K.’s interest in investing in Indonesia with the priority goal of supporting Indonesia’s economic transition.

The U.K. will prepare export credits that can be used to support economic transition cooperation with Indonesia.

Reporting by Indonesia Window