Advantages of the CATL EV Battery Factory to be Built in Indonesia

KatadataOTO – An Electric Vehicle (EV) battery factory owned by China's Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) will soon be built in Indonesia.

The groundbreaking or first stone-laying ceremony for the production facility will reportedly be carried out by President Prabowo Subianto this coming weekend.

“We are building an integrated (electric) car battery ecosystem. It will be inaugurated tomorrow, June 29, God willing, by the President,” said Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), as previously reported by Katadata.

Bahlil further stated that the EV battery factory project has several special features.

Photo : Nissan

For instance, the Chinese manufacturer is claimed to be developing the EV battery ecosystem from upstream to downstream.

“(Starting) from mining, smelters, HPAL, precursors, to cathodes,” the minister stated.

Bahlil also revealed that the total investment in the project is around 6 billion US dollars (USD) or Rp 97.6 trillion.

“This (EV battery factory) is the first of this size in the world,” Bahlil emphasized.

He then stated that the presence of the EV battery factory in the country is expected to have a positive impact.

It is believed that other countries will think that if the entire production process is carried out in Indonesia, the required costs will be lower.

“That is what we are talking about regarding the positive and negative effects from countries that consider it important for us to compete fairly,” he concluded.

For your information, the construction of the EV battery ecosystem factory is located in East Halmahera, North Maluku.

The project is one of 18 downstreaming programs worth nearly 45 billion US dollars or Rp 729 trillion. It is set to begin in June 2025.

The minister mentioned that the downstreaming project by CATL includes nickel, bauxite, refinery, storage, and coal gasification (DME).

Photo : Carscoops

Then, downstreaming in the fishery, agriculture, and forestry sectors, as well as the development of Indonesia's own electric car battery ecosystem.

It should be noted that CATL will reportedly cooperate with the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) to build a battery cell factory in Indonesia.

Their facility will be capable of producing up to 15 GWh. However, this amount will be reached in stages, as the initial production will only be 7.5 GWh.