The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment has announced the establishment of a major electric vehicle (EV) battery research center in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, highlighting the nation’s ambition to lead in the EV industry.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, shared this announcement during the International Battery Summit 2024 in Jakarta. He emphasized Indonesia’s strategic move towards becoming a global leader in the EV sector.
“We are progressing from upstream to downstream in the EV industry,” he said on Monday, July 29, 2024.
The Morowali facility will not only focus on research but also integrate advanced battery recycling technologies capable of extracting 99.5 percent nickel from used EV batteries.
The Indonesian government is inviting leading research institutions to collaborate at this center. Furthermore, 42 Indonesian students have been sent to China to study and conduct research, particularly in the field of Lithium Ferro-Phosphate (LFP) batteries, a potential alternative to nickel-based batteries.
These students are expected to work alongside Chinese researchers in the specialized research zone in Morowali.
The development of the research center is part of a broader strategy to establish a comprehensive EV ecosystem in Indonesia. This includes recent developments such as the inauguration of an integrated EV and battery cell ecosystem by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at PT HLI Green Power in Karawang, West Java.
President Jokowi expressed confidence in Indonesia’s potential to become a global player in the EV supply chain, supported by the nation’s abundant natural resources, including nickel, bauxite, and copper.
He highlighted the strategic advantage of Indonesia’s integrated facilities, which include smelters producing cathodes and precursors for EV batteries.
“With these conditions, I am confident that we can compete globally,” the president said, while underscoring the importance of the new ecosystem for Indonesia’s ambitions in the EV market.
