Indonesia, rich in nickel, has received an investment proposal from Tesla – focus is on making EV batteries

Late last year, a team representing the Indonesian government met Tesla for talks on the electric vehicle specialist setting up shop in the ASEAN country. Now, our neighbour has received an investment proposal from Elon Musk’s company, Indonesia’s deputy head for investment and mining coordination Septian Hario Seto told the press, reported by Reuters.

“I received their proposal yesterday morning. Next week we will meet them (virtually) to get an official explanation,” Septian said, adding that he could not elaborate on the details as there’s a non-disclosure agreement in place.

He did say that the focus of Indonesia and Tesla’s discussions had been on batteries and energy storage solutions. “If they only want to buy raw materials, we are not interested. This (proposal) is beyond just taking the raw material,” Septian added.

Why Indonesia? Well, the country has what Tesla needs as an EV maker. The republic is the world’s biggest producer of nickel, a crucial ingredient in EV batteries. It used to be the world’s top exporter, but Indonesia stopped selling the raw material last year; instead, it plans to develop a full nickel supply chain itself. Timely, as EVs are the future.

“It’s very important because we have a great plan to make Indonesia the biggest producer of lithium batteries and we have the biggest nickel (reserves),” RI president Joko Widodo said in November.

Besides having a plan to promote EVs and draw in EV-related investment, the country has been publicly courting Tesla to for investment. On Tesla’s part, the Model S maker said last year it was looking to find reliable sources of nickel globally.

Indonesia’s EV plan has already got off the mark. Hyundai will start making EVs in the country sometime in 2022, while top Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) is building a factory in the republic, with initial production due in 2024.

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