PT Aneka Tambang (IDX:ANTM) and Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) are developing a series of integrated electric vehicle projects spanning upstream and downstream, to strengthen their role in the national battery industry ecosystem.
In collaboration with global partner CBL – a joint venture between CATL, Brunp, and Lygend – Aneka Tambang (ANTAM) and IBC aim to reflect Indonesia’s strategic role in growing the EV ecosystem in the Association of Southeast Asia Nations.
For the upstream operations, Aneka Tambang and CBL have formed a joint venture for nickel mining operations to supply the battery industry.
Both companies will build rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) and high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) processing plants and the Buli Industrial Area, where will be supported by clean energy, an integrated water system, and a cloud-based control centre.
The RKEF plant will adopt the world’s first automated ferronickel refining technology developed by Brunp. The HPAL plant, with an annual capacity of 55,000 tons of nickel, will use advanced third-generation technology and a gravity-based, tiered layout to optimise material flow.
Electric vision: ‘Dreaming of downstreaming‘
Meanwhile, for the midstream and downstream operations, IBC and CBL are constructing a battery cell plant as part of an integrated project. The project includes developing facilities for producing battery active materials, precursor and cathode, as well as battery recycling.
The plant is designed to process 16,000 tons of nickel sulphate per year, producing 30,000 tons of precursors and 30,000 tons of cathode active material.
Aneka says semi-finished materials will be transported westward to Karawang from East Halmahera. At this strategic industrial zone, IBC and CBL are building a battery cell factory with an initial capacity of 6.9 gigawatt per hour, which is forecast to scale up to 15 gigawatt per hour within five years.
The company notes this production line is anticipated to begin in 2026, producing cells for EVs and battery energy storage systems for domestic and export markets.
IBC and CBL will complete the battery cycle with a recycling plant capable of processing 20,000 tons of used batteries per year into reusable battery materials.
The construction of this integrated battery plant was officially initiated by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto.
Subianto says the development of an integrated electric vehicle battery industry ecosystem is a tangible step toward realising Indonesia’s national vision.
“The dream of industrial downstreaming has existed since our first President Bung Karno”
“The dream of industrial downstreaming has existed since our first President Bung Karno,” he says.
Subianto adds that this is the largest project in Southeast Asia and a testament to Indonesia’s commitment to driving environmentally friendly energy.
The inauguration is considered a key step in Indonesia’s energy transition efforts and is expected to strengthen national industrial independence by using strategic minerals in the global EV supply chain.
Global EV sales grew 28% in 2024, bolstered by rising adoption rates in China . New EV car sales share of all new car sales in China increased 10 percentage points in 2024 reaching 48%, according to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) June 2025 Resources and Energy Quarterly.
By 2027, two out of every three cars sold in China is expected to be a battery electric or a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
Comparatively, the US and EU markets experienced much lower growth in 2024. In the EU, EV car sales fell (from over 2.4 million in 2023) to less than 2.3 million in 2024. EV sales are expected to remain flat in the EU to 2026, before increasing to 2.9 million in 2027.
DISR notes that increasing EV adoption in the EU beyond 2027 reflects current emissions performance standards that require fleet-average emissions to fall 45% by 2030.
In the US, EV sales grew (from just under 1.4 million in 2023) to above 1.5 million in 2024. EV sales are expected to grow to 2.1 million in 2027, though adoption rates will remain around half that seen in the EU and much lower than in China.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Unsplash & PT Aneka Tambang
