According to kabarbursa.com, Indonesia’s nickel product exports surged to $37 billion in 2025 — a 12-fold increase from $3 billion in 2014 — yet the nation still lacks full control over the global battery supply chain.
Hilirisasi Success and Persistent Gaps
Nataneil Adhynagara Horansil, Mining and Mineral Expert at the National Energy Council (DEN), highlighted Indonesia’s dramatic export growth during the CERAH forum on 27 August 2026. “Our nickel product exports have increased very rapidly — 12 times since 2014. From just $3 billion per year, last year it reached $37 billion. In volume terms, it rose even more — to 19 million tons in 2025,” he said.
The surge aligns with massive foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows: cumulative FDI in base metals from 2015 to 2025 totaled over $71 billion. Government incentives — including tax holidays, tax allowances, import VAT exemptions, and streamlined permitting under the National Strategic Projects (PSN) scheme — were instrumental in attracting smelter investors.
As a result, nickel smelters proliferated across Sulawesi, especially in Central Sulawesi. The Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) now operates at 1.8 million tons of annual processing capacity — the largest in the country.
Intermediate Focus, Downstream Deficits
Despite this expansion, DEN stresses that most output remains at the intermediate stage — including Nickel Pig Iron (NPI), ferronickel, and Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP). “In the past we imported raw materials; today we import intermediate products like NPI, steel, and MHP. In the future, we hope to go further downstream — into lithium batteries and electric vehicles,” Nataneil stated.
National nickel and cobalt reserves are estimated to hold economic potential nearing $800 billion. To close technology gaps, the government launched a joint hydrometallurgy lab with GEM and ITB valued at $35 million, targeting precursor, anode, and final battery production.
Indonesia Battery Corporation, Antam, and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt’s consortium is developing an integrated project — from mining to cathode and battery cell manufacturing — with an investment of approximately $6 billion and a planned cell capacity of 20 GWh.
Fragmented Domestic Ecosystem
Indonesia has established large-scale anode material manufacturing: PT Indonesia BTR New Energy Material began production in 2024 at its Kendal facility, with an initial capacity of 80,000 tons per year. Yet the plant relies on natural graphite from Africa and lithium from Australia — underscoring persistent upstream dependencies.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources confirms domestic natural graphite exploitation remains at the exploration stage. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency notes global battery material production — including precursors (pCAM), cathode active materials (CAM), and graphite — is highly concentrated, especially in China.
In 2026, the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming identified pCAM and cathodes as the two remaining missing links in Indonesia’s battery ecosystem — prompting an invitation for Pure Battery Technologies of Australia to invest $350 million in a domestic pCAM facility.
Source: kabarbursa.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
