Factbox: Indonesia's growing battery chemical industry

Hanwa

10/05/2019 05:46

JAKARTA, May 10 (Reuters) - International and local
companies are setting up battery chemical plants in nickel-rich
areas of Indonesia to serve a burgeoning electric vehicle (EV)
industry, with at least four planned in a burst of activity over
the past year. 
    Analysts advise caution, though, on how quickly to expect
such plans to develop, as earlier plants using the planned high
pressure acid leach (HPAL) smelter technology were prone to cost
overruns and lengthy technical hitches, such as in Madagascar
and New Caledonia.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1XR4Z7 
    Below are details on the plants planned in Indonesia: 
    
    MOROWALI, CENTRAL SULAWESI 
    - China's Tsingshan Group is leading a consortium of
investors - including GEM Co Ltd  002340.SZ , a unit of
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd  300750.SZ  and Hanwa Co
Ltd  8078.T  - to produce nickel, cobalt and manganese battery
chemicals in Morowali of Central Sulawesi province. 
    - The HPAL plant in Morowali will have the capacity to
produce 131,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate crystals, 13,000
tonnes of cobalt sulphate crystals, and 27,000 tonnes of
manganese sulphate crystals per year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21N1P7 
    - The developer PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, a
minor shareholder in the plant, said construction will take 16
to 18 months. The consortium is aiming to start operations next
year, but the companies may need to wait up to eight months for
an environmental assessment permit before they continue
construction, which began in January. 
    - The cost of the plant is put at $700 million, although
some analysts expect costs to expand to more than $1 billion. 
    - Morowali Industrial Park already has supporting facilities
such as power plants, a seaport, an airstrip and a hotel. 
    
    OBI ISLAND, NORTH MALUKU 
    - PT Halmahera Persada Lygend, a joint venture between
Indonesia's Harita Group and China's mining firm Ningbo Lygend,
is investing $756 million for an HPAL plant on Obi island in
North Maluku province, according to data from Indonesia's
Industry Ministry. 
    - Commercial production is expected to start in December
2020, the ministry data showed. 
    - The plant will have an output capacity of 96,000 tonnes of
mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate per year. 

    WEDA BAY, NORTH MALUKU 
    - China's Tsingshan is also leading a group seeking
investors for a nickel sulphate plant in a $10 billion
industrial park linked to the Weda Bay nickel concession on the
island of Halmahera, also in North Maluku. 
    - The group, which includes China's Huayou Cobalt Ltd
 603799.SS  and Zhenshi Holding Group, is looking to develop 9.3
million tonnes of nickel reserves at Weda Bay that are jointly
owned by France's Eramet  ERMT.PA . 
    
    POMALAA, SOUTHEAST SULAWESI 
    - Vale Indonesia  INCO.JK  and Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining
Co Ltd  5713.T  have said they are conducting a study to set up
a plant that will produce 40,000 tonnes per year of nickel
sulphate in Pomalaa of Southeast Sulawesi province. 
    - The partners expect their feasibility study to take one to
two years to complete.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VY4W8 
    
    FUTURE BATTERY INDUSTRY: 
    - Pertamina  PERTM.UL , Indonesia's state energy company has
said it may team up with state miner Aneka Tambang  ANTM.JK  to
make batteries by the end of 2020 or 2021.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1Y53N3 
    - Indonesia, the second-largest car production hub in
Southeast Asia after Thailand, in January announced plans to
introduce a scheme to offer tax cuts to EV battery producers and
automakers to set up factories in the country, as well as
preferential tariff agreements with other countries that have
high EV demand.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N20H300 
    - Hyundai Motor Co  005380.KS  plans to start producing EVs
in Indonesia as part of an $880 million investment, according to
the country's deputy minister for industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1YP3GX 
    - Indonesia's largest taxi operator PT Blue Bird Tbk
 BIRD.JK  said in April it will add 30 EVs to its fleet starting
in May, and aims to expand the number to around 20 to 30 percent
of its total vehicles, in line with a government target for the
country's car market. 
    

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Indonesia's battery chemical industry    https://tmsnrt.rs/2WaNGit
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe, Fransiska Nangoy in
JAKARTA, and Melanie Burton in MELBOURNE; Editing by Ed Davies
and Tom Hogue)
 ((Fransiska.Nangoy@thomsonreuters.com; +62 21 2992 7610;
Reuters Messaging:
fransiska.nangoy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))