Groundbreaking for Ningde Times' Indonesia battery project to take place in June

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources has revealed that a groundbreaking ceremony will be held in June 2025 for an integrated upstream and downstream battery project to be carried out by Chinese investor Ningde Times (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited, CATL). The project, with an investment of about $6-7 billion, is the first of its kind in the world to create an ecosystem of electric vehicle batteries from upstream to downstream, including mining, high-pressure acid leach smelters, precursors, cathodes, battery cells and other segments. He understands the need for some European countries to build battery cell factories near European car factories, but emphasized that the precursor and cathode factories must be built in Indonesia to achieve a fair and win-win situation and to maintain the Indonesian nickel industry chain and industrial ecosystem. This project is not only an investment, but also an important adjustment to the global battery industry layout, which has a far-reaching impact on the development of related industries and international cooperation in Indonesia.