Indonesia to Scale Up Battery Manufacturing for Electric Vehicles

Jan 2021

In October 2020, several state-owned Indonesian companies formed a joint venture for batteries for electric vehicles (EV). The new joint venture, called Indonesia Battery Holding, will cover everything from producing chemicals and minerals to the manufacturing of battery cells and recycling of old batteries. The founding companies are Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID), Aneka Tambang (ANTAM), Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and Pertamina.

Indonesia is positioning itself as an EV manufacturing country, backed by its rich nickel and cobalt resources. Eventually, it aims to become a global hub for manufacturing and exporting EV.

Recent progress in EV development in Indonesia include:

  • In December 2020, Chinese battery cell manufacturer CATL announced plans to invest USD 5 billion in a lithium battery plant in Indonesia. The plant will commence production in 2024. CATL has inked an agreement with ANTAM to ensure 60% of nickel will be processed into batteries in the country.
  • In the same month, South Korea LG Group signed an MoU with Indonesia on a USD 9.8 billion EV investment deal. The MoU outlines a plan to build an integrated electric battery factory, from upstream to downstream.
  • President Joko Widodo sent a personal invitation to Tesla’s Elon Musk to invest in Indonesia. In December 2020, they discussed Indonesia’s potential as an investment destination.

(Sources: Electrive; South China Morning Post; Yahoo Finance)

About Us

Orissa International helps companies that want to develop a market entry strategy for Southeast Asia or implement their business expansion into the region. We have very strong domain knowledge of markets and industry sectors, and a business network of over 16,000 companies that includes distributors, resellers, system integrators and local manufacturers, that we have built through advising and guiding more than 5,000 companies with their market expansion into the ASEAN region over the last 25 years.

Orissa International is headquartered in Singapore, with additional offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Our Services