Indonesia took a significant step towards becoming a major player in the electric vehicle (EV) industry with the inauguration of its first battery plant in the Southeast Asia on Wednesday. The facility, located in Karawang, West Java province, is a product of collaboration between South Korea's LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group. HLI Green Power, a joint venture, invested over $1.2 billion in constructing a plant that started in 2021. The plant has a production capacity of 10 GWh of battery cells per year, enough to power around 150,000 electric cars annually. Hyundai and LG plan to expand their project in Indonesia, investing $2 billion to increase capacity to 30 GWh. This is part of their $11 billion commitment to Indonesia's EV ecosystem. President Joko Widodo, present at the launch ceremony, emphasisd the facility's potential to transform Indonesia into "a global player in the EV supply chain." The plant is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, positioning Indonesia as a pioneer in establishing a fully integrated EV supply chain, including battery cell production and vehicle manufacturing, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said. The newly opened plant is situated near a Hyundai car manufacturing facility in Karawang. Most of the batteries produced here will be utilised in Hyundai's Kona Electric SUV, dubbed the first "pure Indonesian" electric car. Euisun Chung, executive chair of Hyundai Motor Group, underscored the importance of the collaboration: "The collaboration of Hyundai Motor Group and Indonesia will determine the future of EVs not only in Asia but also globally." Hyundai has chosen Indonesia as its production hub for Southeast Asia, with a capacity of 250,000 units per year. The Ioniq 5 EVs will rival Wuling's Air EV hatchback in Indonesia, the region's biggest economy. Indonesia, a top nickel producer, plans to leverage its resources to produce 600,000 EVs per year by 2030, with the Kona Electric model contributing up to 50,000 units to this target. Indonesia has an agreement with Chinese battery giant CATL to establish a nearly $6 billion EV ecosystem, this project has yet to gain significant momentum. Attribution: The Nikkei Asia
