Bahlil Lahadalia, Indonesia’s Investment Minister and Head of the Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM), met with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Solutions, a global company specializing in product certification and testing, in the United States on June 26, 2023.
Established in 1894, UL Solution is a global safety science company from the United States (US), creating safety certifications, enhancing sustainability, strengthening security, risk management, and regulatory compliance.
Developing EV ecosystem in Indonesia
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss potential collaboration in establishing a battery testing facility to support the development of the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in Indonesia.
“Currently the demand of the Indonesian people for electric vehicles has increased and is expected to continue to increase in the future,” said Lahadalia, on June 28, 2023.
The Indonesian government aims to prioritize safety and security in the development of electric vehicles.
“We hope that the Government of Indonesia can collaborate with UL Solutions to create an electric vehicle ecosystem that is certainly safe and prioritizes safety for drivers. Apart from that, the creation of this battery EV ecosystem is also very important to reduce carbon emissions on earth,” he said.
Todd Denison, President International of UL Solutions, welcomed the collaboration offered by the Indonesian government.
“Until now, the battery testing facility in Asia has only been in China. We will further study the potential for establishing a battery testing point in Indonesia. We also welcome the opportunity for this collaboration,” said Denison.
UL Solutions recognizes the promising potential for the development of the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia, similar to that of the United States, with a commitment to clean energy and emission reduction mandates.
Officials responded
Danto Restyawan, Director of Road Transportation Facilities at the Directorate General of Land Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, said that infrastructure issues are no longer the main point in the realm of electric vehicles or electronic vehicles (EV) in the country.
“All kinds of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations [SPKLU] are not a problem, they will grow,” said Restyawan.
According to Restyawan, in the future there will periodically be a policy requiring every government office to have a charging station that makes it easier for EV users to charge their vehicles.
He said that currently the biggest problem is trust in electric vehicles. The trust is mainly to the resale value as promised from conventional vehicles.
“So you see, people buy ordinary cars and there is a resale value. For electric vehicles, they are still unsure whether there is a selling price or not, our society is like that,” he said.
Agus Purwadi, an automotive observer and electrical expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said that the electric car market is not yet as potent as electric motorbikes because the choice of cheap electric cars is still very limited.
Meanwhile, Rachmat Kaimuddin, Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, explained that there are at least three reasons why people are still reluctant to buy electric cars, such as limited models, the selling price of electric cars is considered expensive, and incomplete infrastructure.
