Tsingshan Holding Group Co.’s business unit, the world’s top nickel producer, plans to build a battery factory in Indonesia as part of China’s latest investment efforts to boost the Southeast Asian country’s economy by downstreaming raw commodities.
As reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, the REPT Battero Energy Co. battery business unit of the Tsingshan Group will be located in the Tsingshan operating area in Weda Bay and is expected to start operating next year. The aim of this construction is to compete with other nickel battery manufacturers who are currently building new factories in other countries.
REPT also intends to take advantage of the raw materials and infrastructure provided by the Tsingshan Group.
Building a factory in Indonesia can also reduce concerns about trade conflicts that threaten exports from China.
“Some battery manufacturers are building production facilities and adding new capacities in Europe and North America, but we estimate that these new capacities will only start operating around 2026 or later,” US REPT General Manager Jason Hong said in an interview.
“We aim to surpass other battery manufacturers by building a factory in Indonesia,” he added.
It is worth noting that China is one of the largest investors in Indonesia with investments exceeding $7 billion last year. The majority of these investments are used to build downstream facilities for abundant raw materials in Indonesia.
The Indonesian government has the ambition to become an electric vehicle hub, a sector where China leads in sales. Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel miner and the second-largest cobalt producer in the world. Both minerals are essential for producing electric vehicle batteries.
REPT has started selling batteries for energy storage systems, which then expanded to car manufacturers, including Stellantis NV, Li Auto Inc, and SAIC Motor Corp.
According to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance, REPT currently ranks 9th in China for electric vehicle battery installations in the first 2 months of 2024, up from 11th position at the end of last year.
