PT Chandra Asri Pacific (TPIA), an entity owned by conglomerate Prajogo Pangestu, is forecasting the completion of its Chlor Alkali-Ethylene Dichloride (CA-EDC) plant, which serves as a raw material source for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, by the year 2027.
This plant, with a production capacity of 400,000 tons per year of caustic soda [sodium hydroxide] and 500,000 tons per year of ethylene dichloride [EDC], is expected to play a pivotal role in supporting Indonesia’s burgeoning EV industry.
Suryandi, Director of Human Resources and Corporate Relations at TPIA, said the construction of the plant is set to commence no later than the second half of 2024 by PT Chandra Daya Investasi (CDI), a subsidiary entity.
“The construction period is approximately 2 years or 26-30 months. If construction begins in the second half of 2024, it is estimated to be completed by around 2027,” Suryandi said in Bandung on Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Edi Riva’i, Director of Legal, External Relations, and Circular Economy at TPIA, explained that chlor alkali is one of the raw materials needed in smelting during the refining process of mining materials. In this process, caustic soda is required to process raw mining materials into semi-finished or finished goods. TPIA is thus striving to integrate chlor alkali manufacturing facilities with ethylene to produce ethylene dichloride.
“[The resulting products are used] for EVs, paper, ceramics, and smelting,” Edi said.
The construction of the CA-EDC plant is estimated to require an investment of up to US$1 billion or approximately Rp15.71 trillion (at an exchange rate of Rp15,715 per US$), with US$850 million allocated for manufacturing facilities and US$150 million for other supporting infrastructure.
On a related note, the development of the Chandra Asri Perkasa 2 (CAP2) project has reportedly commenced following the final investment decision (FID) being made at the group level. This project is expected to commence construction in early 2024. TPIA has earmarked approximately US$300 million of its capital expenditure (capex) budget of US$400 million to complete the construction, which will be carried out by PT Chandra Asri Alkali (CAA).
