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Luhut launches integrated EV battery plant in Morowali
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The Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi is shown in this undated photo. (Courtesy of IMIP)
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oordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has inaugurated a hydrometallurgical nickel laterite production facility in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park in Morowali, Central Sulawesi.
The project, spearheaded by joint venture PT QMB New Energy Materials, is aimed at producing nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), one of the materials used to make nickel-based battery cells. The facility is expected to produce 50,000 tonnes of pure nickel annually.
“Today, we are witnessing not only the construction of a modern [...] and green facility but also the establishment of the first nickel industry museum in Indonesia’s history,” he said during the inauguration ceremony, according to a statement issued on Monday.
The joint venture consists of Jakarta-based PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, Tokyo-based Hanwa Co Limited, as well as Chinese companies Tsingshan, GEM Co Limited and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) subsidiary Brunp.
The partners invested a reported US$700 million and aim to establish a fully integrated mine-to-refined facility where nickel and cobalt sulfate are produced.
Read also: Indonesia to formulate a grand strategy for nickel industry
Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of QMB New Energy Materials’ hydrometallurgical nickel laterite processing facility on Jan. 10, 2019. He said the facility would enable Indonesia to become a significant player in the electric vehicle (EV) battery industry.
QMB New Energy Materials is expected to produce nickel, cobalt, nickel hydroxide, nickel sulfate crystal batteries, cobalt sulfate crystal batteries and manganese sulfate crystal batteries at a capacity of 50,000 tonnes, 4,000 tonnes, 50,000 tonnes, 150,000 tonnes, 20,000 tonnes and 30,000 tonnes, respectively.
Read also: Indonesia to have seven new smelters this year
The processing facility’s construction is part of a larger government scheme to foster the development of downstream stages of extractive industries and accelerate EV manufacturing in the country.
Indonesia, endowed with 25 percent of the world’s reserves of nickel, a metal that makes up 40 percent of the basic materials of lithium batteries, may have a comparative advantage in becoming an EV and car battery production base.
