Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that Indonesia owned nine companies that contribute to the battery industry and electric vehicles.

Five companies provided raw materials for batteries, consisting of pure nickel, pure cobalt, ferrous nickel, mixed hydroxide deposits, while the other four companies are battery manufacturers.

"Thus, Indonesia is able to support the battery supply chain for electric vehicles starting from the raw materials, refineries, battery cell manufacturing and battery assembly, manufacturing electric vehicles or Electric Vehicles (EV), to EV recycling," the Minister of Industry, said while virtually attending the 2021 Investor Daily Summit in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Kartasasmita also said that the Indonesian government encouraged the transportation industry, through the National Industrial Development Plan, which set out its vision to become a major player in the global automotive industry.

The Transportation Equipment Industry Becomes a Priority in the 2015-2035 National Industrial Development Master Plan.

Indonesia has created an EV Development Roadmap through the Minister of Industry Regulation Number 27 of 2020 concerning Technical Specifications, EV Roadmap and the Calculation of Local Content Levels.

Indonesia is targeting to develop the EV Main Component Industry, which includes batteries, electric motors and inverters.

Global demand for EVs i is expected to continue to increase and reach some 55 million EVs by 2040, he said.

"This growth leads to an increase in the need for lithium ion (LIB) batteries and there will be a capacity of more than 500 GWh for electric vehicles in 2030," Kartasasmita said.

The increasing use of batteries also encouraged an escalation in the use of raw materials, including nickel, cobalt, lithium, and manganese.

In a certain position, the minister noted, the owner of this raw battery material source would play a very important role.

Indonesia is the largest automotive sales and production market in ASEAN.

The battery will be the most valuable component in an electric vehicle, representing 35 percent of the cost of manufacturing an electric vehicle.

The main advantage of EV manufacturing in Indonesia is the battery made from nickel-based Lithium Ion Batteries.

"The EV manufacturing is supported by Indonesia's ability to provide resources, because Indonesia has the largest nickel reserves globally," the minister said.

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Translator: Sella P, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Sri Haryati
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