After Ford and Hyundai, Tesla is about to invest in the country, rich in this metal necessary for the manufacture of automobile batteries. To the chagrin of environmental defenders.
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Indonesia, the world’s leading country for its nickel reserves, is determined to take advantage of the announced takeoff of the electric car and associated industries – in particular that of batteries. The American manufacturer Tesla has signed supply contracts for products containing nickel from two companies based in the country, one worth $ 5 billion (4.86 billion euros) for five Ans, announced on Monday August 8, in Djakarta, the Indonesian minister in charge of investments, Luhut Pandjaitan, on Monday on the sidelines of a forum to promote the country as a destination for foreign investments. Negotiations continue, said the minister.
m. Pandjaitan had moved to the United States in April with a delegation of industrialists to meet Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX. The following month, Indonesian president himself, Joko Widodo, was invited to Boca Chica, Texas, on the future launch site of SpaceX, for discussions with the American billionaire on his future projects in the country. The first economic power of Southeast Asia, with 273 million inhabitants, aims to reduce its carbon emissions by 41 % by 2030 and intends to present itself, at the G20 summit it welcomes in November, as a nation of the future for green industries.
The two foundries that will provide Tesla produce hydroxides from the treatment of nickliferous minerals which are used for the manufacture of batteries. They are located in the Morowali industrial park, in the central part of the island of Celebes, where is the most important integrated production site of nickel in the country. This is where in particular, since the beginning of the year, one of the first local hydroxide production units, the joint venture of Chinese groups Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group.
Doors wide open
Elon Musk was also approached by the Indonesian government to invest in a 500,000 vehicle electric vehicle factory, either in Batang, on the island of Java, either on the island of Borneo, in the future North Kalimantanan Green Industrial Park (“North Kalimantan Green Industrial Park”). But the minister did not specify if this project had advanced. Indonesia seeks to go up in rank in the nickel sector. After having a stainless steel manufacturing industry, the objective is now for it not only to develop the ore transformation sector into battery components, but to produce it directly on site, as well as Electric vehicles – Equipping an electric car industry was even erected as a “national priority” in 2019.
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