Another Chinese company invests in developing Indonesia's electric vehicle battery project

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Minister of Investment have said that the electric vehicle battery project, which is a collaboration between China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Huayou) and Indonesia Battery Company (IBC), with the participation of Indonesian state-owned company Antam and others, is being implemented by China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Huayou).The size of the investment is about $8 billion (about Rp 131.07 trillion) and the target completion date is the end of 2027. The Indonesian government will offer attractive incentives for the EV battery ecosystem project. Hwayo Cobalt replaced South Korea's LG Energy Solutions (LGES), which was originally involved in the project. The Indonesian government decided to withdraw it from the project in a consortium with IBC and Antam, Pertamina, and PLN due to a failure to fulfill initially agreed commitments, and LGES withdrew from the investment plans for three of the joint ventures, with only a fourth, already operating, still moving forward. To date, HAYU Cobalt has invested US$8.8 billion in Indonesia and may invest an additional US$2 billion (approximately Rp 335.56 trillion) in the future. Future investments will be made in Wetar Bay (Weda Bay), Morowali industrial park expansion project, and plans to build a new industrial park in Pomalaa. The project is part of Indonesia's plan to build a global battery center, and the downstream processing of the nickel industry chain is its key support.