Bahlil Reveals Indonesia Can Reduce Fuel Imports If It Develops EVs

KatadataOTO – The start of construction of the electric vehicle battery factory in Karawang is believed to be a new breakthrough for the nation. This is because fuel oil imports will be significantly reduced.

Significantly, if the public switches to electric vehicles, the reduction in fuel imports could be reduced by up to 300 KL. This amount is very large and will certainly benefit the nation.

“If production reaches 15 GWh, we can save on fuel imports by about 300 thousand kiloliters per year,” said Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, as reported by Antara (30/06).

However, this number is expected to continue to grow gradually, especially as the solar power plant (PLTS) industry is promoted.

Photo : Nissan

“With the market for solar power plant batteries growing, it could reach 40 GWh,” he said.

The reduction in fuel imports is believed to benefit the country because the funds can be reallocated to the development of other sectors.

It was previously reported that President Prabowo Subianto laid the first stone for the construction of the Integrated Electric Vehicle Battery Industry Ecosystem project by the Antam – IBC – CBL Consortium in the Artha Industrial Hills (AIH) Area, in Karawang, West Java, on Sunday (29/06).

The construction of this project is an upstream to downstream industrial development consisting of six integrated projects jointly developed by PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTAM), Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), and the CATL, Brunp, and Lygend (CBL) Consortium.

Five projects are being developed in the FHT East Halmahera Area and one project is being developed in Karawang. The total investment value is very large, reaching US$ 5.9 billion or around Rp 96 trillion

Photo : Carscoops

The presence of this production facility certainly strengthens Indonesia's position to become an important player in the development of electric vehicles in the future. This is because the entire production process can later be carried out directly in the country.

This will certainly benefit automotive companies as they will no longer need to import important components from abroad. Thus, vehicle prices can become more affordable than before.