Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - LG Energy Solution (LGES) of South Korea broke ground on nickel processing plants in Indonesia on Wedne...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - LG Energy Solution (LGES) of South Korea broke ground on nickel processing plants in Indonesia on Wednesday, as part of a $9.8 billion commitment to create electric vehicle batteries in the nation.
LGES officials told Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a ceremony in Batang industrial park in Central Java, which was televised live, that the business will develop a $3.5 billion smelter with the potential to manufacture 150,000 tonnes of nickel sulfate per year.
It will also construct a $2.4 billion factory in Batang Park that will generate 220,000 tonnes of precursor and 42,000 tonnes of cathode annually. This will be the primary raw material for its $3.6 billion 200 gigawatt-hour battery cell factory in the West Java industrial town of Karawang.
According to LGES President Lee Bang-Soo, LGES and Indonesian state miner Aneka Tambang (Antam) will sign an agreement in September to jointly invest in a $300 million nickel mine on the eastern island of Halmahera, which will generate 16 million tonnes of nickel ore.
With the world's largest nickel reserves, Indonesia hopes to become a significant manufacturer of nickel-based products, according to Jokowi, as the Indonesian president is called.
In order to attract international investment and strengthen its downstream industry, Indonesia halted nickel ore exports in 2020. Jokowi has stated that he intends to use the same method for other natural resources, such as halting the export of raw bauxite and tin.
LGES and Hyundai Motor Group began building on a $1.1 billion EV battery facility in Bekasi, West Java, in September 2021.
