Indonesian battery-material makers navigate China-West EV tensions

Nickel companies also face rise of new technology, seek to improve image

20241010 MHP

A worker at Harita Nickel's refinery on Obi island in eastern Indonesia examines lumps of mixed hydroxide precipitate, which contains nickel and cobalt. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)

ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA/OBI ISLAND, Indonesia -- In just a few years, the western part of the far-flung Obi island in Indonesia's North Maluku province has been transformed beyond all recognition.

Previously home to just fishermen and farmers, the island that is about three times the size of Singapore now hosts one of Indonesia's biggest nickel developments. These sprawling mining and processing complexes are a key component of Indonesia's flagship industrial policy, namely its ambition to become an electric vehicle battery production center.

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