Indonesia had consciously chosen to seek to produce its own electric vehicle batteries. A battery plant is being built by the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC).
By
Kompas Editor
·3 minutes read
Indonesia is rich. The country’s soil is endowed with mineral resources. Nickel, cobalt and manganese are some examples of the materials needed by the battery industry.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, at the Kompas100 CEO Forum on Thursday (18/11/2021) at the State Palace in Jakarta, reaffirmed Indonesia’s commitment to the termination of nickel exports. Downstream processing of nickel and other minerals will be optimized to add value to the commodities domestically for the employment of more workers.
Indonesia had consciously chosen to seek to produce its own electric vehicle batteries. A battery plant is being built by the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC). Three years from now, the plant is expected to start producing batteries. IBC is also finalizing the acquisition of a German automotive company. Apart from IBC, the presence of investors is also being awaited. “We welcome independent investors, also those with private partners, with state-owned enterprises. We are open,” said the President.
At present, one of the causes of reluctance to use electric cars is their limited range because of the scarcity of charging stations.
In addition to the supply of batteries, the government is rolling out the red carpet for investment in support of electric vehicles themselves. Part of the investment will be for electric vehicle charging. At present, one of the causes of reluctance to use electric cars is their limited range because of the scarcity of charging stations.
The government will also accelerate the use of electric vehicles in Bali. This acceleration project is important because the penetration of motor vehicles is still very low. As of September of this year, purchases of battery electric vehicles (BEV) were only 0.1 percent (611 cars) of the total sales of 627,537 motor vehicles.
In order to nurture the BEV ecosystem, the government is also revising the Industry Ministerial Regulation (Permenperin) No. 27/2020 on the specifications, development road map and calculation of the local component rate of domestic BEVs. The revision is now being finalized.
We believe that electric vehicles represent the future. That future is already here, although it has not yet been welcomed by many Indonesians. With Indonesia’s natural wealth, we should be part of the future. Instead of merely serving as a market, we should also contribute to developments ahead.
The question is now how to enable the execution of the BEV road map to provide ample room for the inclusion of the population. We also have to move fast – but not too fast – so that none of us will be left behind.
The focus should be clear. We support the presence of electric vehicles that bring benefits to small and medium component industries as well as workshops. Electric vehicle industries should ideally have a trickle-down effect on various parties, rather than just catering to a handful of individuals or large corporations.