“Indonesia has the world’s biggest nickel reserves and with this potential, I believe in the next three to four years, with good management, Indonesia will be the main producer of nickel-based products, such as batteries,”” Widodo said.

The plant will be built in Karawang New Industry City on the eastern outskirts of Jakarta at a joint investment of $1.1 billion with envisaged completion in 2023 and start of mass production of battery cells in the first half of 2024, LG Energy and Hyundai said in a joint statement at a ground-breaking ceremony.

Power for more than 150,000 vehicles

When fully operational, the facility is expected to annually produce 10 gigawatt-hours lithium-ion battery cells to power more than 150,000 electric vehicles. In addition, the facility will be ready to increase its production capacity up to 30 gigawatt-hours to meet future growth, the statement said.

The plant is part of the two South Korean companies’ plan to set up an electric vehicle battery industry ecosystem in Indonesia with planned total investments of $9.8 billion, according to an earlier statement by the country’s newly established Ministry of Investment.

“Through the development of these industries, an electric vehicle ecosystem will be successfully developed in Indonesia, and furthermore I am confident Indonesia will play a key role as the hub of Southeast Asia’s electric vehicle market,” Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Eui-sun said at the opening.

According to Investvine