State-owned nickel and gold mining firm PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is expected to sign a joint venture agreement with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) to produce raw materials for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in December.

The move is part of a larger plan to build an end-to-end domestic supply chain for EV batteries in Indonesia, an effort spearheaded by state-owned PT Indonesia Battery Holding (IBC).

The EV battery holding company is also in talks with CATL and South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions, the world’s top-two EV battery makers by market share, to establish other joint ventures to develop the upstream-to-downstream EV battery industry.

Antam business development director I Dewa Bagus Wirantaya said the company and CATL planned to sign the joint venture agreement on Dec. 10.

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The two firms were finalizing the precondition, the divestiture of Antam's nickel ore mining arm PT Sumber Daya Arindo (SDA), as well as several cooperation measures in the upstream and downstream businesses, he explained.

“There will be a joint venture signing, there will be a close of the transaction. Afterward, [upstream operations] will begin,” Dewa told reporters in Jakarta on Monday in response to a question about when the joint venture would begin operations.

Mining holding company MIND ID, oil and gas giant Pertamina, electricity monopoly PLN and Antam each own 25 percent of IBC. 

MIND ID president director Hendi Prio Santoso previously estimated that the firm would need US$12 billion to develop an EV battery plant with a capacity of 15 gigawatts until 2027.

IBC director Toto Nugroho said the company played a significant role in Indonesia’s net-zero emissions goal by working to set up a 3.5 gigawatt-hour (GWh) energy storage system (ESS) by 2030, which the company plans to accomplish in collaboration with Antam.

“So, battery production for ESS and EV could take place in Indonesia by developing Antam’s [downstream business],” he told House of Representatives Commission VII, which oversees energy and mineral resources, in Jakarta on Monday.

Dozens of battery-related development projects are ongoing in the country, mainly in nickel-rich Sulawesi and North Maluku, including projects led by CATL and LG Energy Solution.

IBC in April last year also signed a framework agreement with Antam, CBL and LG Energy Solution underpinning the firms' plan to create joint ventures in every value chain.

Several local companies are building smelters to process nickel ore for battery feedstock.

Others are focusing on manufacturing and/or distributing electric two-wheelers and commercial EVs, including buses and trucks, as electric cars remain unaffordable for most Indonesians. Still others are installing charging or battery-swap stations, many collaborating with foreign companies to catch up on technology and for development aid.

On April 14, Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend Co (CBL), a CATL subsidiary, signed a framework agreement with Antam and IBC to develop the EV battery ecosystem in Indonesia.

The project, located in the FHT Industrial Park, North Maluku, is worth around USD 6 billion and will include nickel mining and processing, EV battery materials and EV battery manufacturing, as well as battery recycling.

Image source: Antam

Source: www.thejakartapost.com/Antam to sign joint venture deal on EV battery plant in December