Indonesia's Minister of Investment and Downstreaming and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, stated that Indonesia aims to participate in the global electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain, supported by continued investment in the domestic nickel industry.

Rosan attributed the increase in investment to government efforts to develop an industrial ecosystem covering the value chain from raw materials to battery components. He identified two industrial areas involved in this development: Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) and Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP).

"Exports from the IWIP area have so far amounted to approximately US$ 11 billion. When combined with the IMIP area, total exports reach US$ 28 billion, equivalent to 10% of Indonesia's total exports," Rosan said at the ground-breaking ceremony for and commercialisation of 11 nickel down streaming projects, held alongside the first export of electric vehicle batteries at the Weda Bay Industrial Area in Central Halmahera, North Maluku, on October 8th.

According to Rosan, industrial activity in these areas is also reflected in their installed and under-construction electricity capacity. The IWIP industrial area has an installed electricity capacity of more than 7.1 gigawatts (GW), while the capacity in Morowali stands at 8.8 GW.

"These two industrial areas have a combined electricity capacity exceeding Singapore's reported total electricity consumption figure of 13.1 gigawatts," he said.

Rosan stated that industrial capacity and incoming investment indicate that Indonesia's EV industry is developing across multiple stages of the value chain. This could enable the country to supply products and components to the global EV battery market.

"This will establish the entire ecosystem here. Indonesia will become part of the global supply chain for electric vehicle batteries," he said.

He further added that nickel downstreaming involves processing raw materials into higher-value products and supporting industrial development. Projects in Morowali are expected to extend the EV battery value chain to include battery recycling.

"The objective of downstreaming is industrialisation. With these new projects in Morowali, the EV battery value chain will include battery recycling," Rosan said.

New investments in strategic projects in the IWIP area total US$ 10.2 billion, equivalent to approximately IDR 180 trillion. The investments originate from various countries and involve several international companies.

"Of these 11 projects, four have been completed, with commercialisation ceremonies held, and exports worth US$ 3.4 billion, equivalent to approximately IDR 60 trillion, have been completed. The remaining six projects, valued at US$ 6.8 billion, are holding ground-breaking ceremonies," he concluded.