Chinese battery material producer CNGR Advanced Material plans to double its nickel matte capacity in Indonesia by injecting an additional $330mn investment jointly with its partner Singapore-based Rigqueza International.
This aims to double CNGR's nickel matte capacity in Indonesia from a planned 30,000 t/yr to 60,000 t/yr by building a second phase project, also in Tsingshan's industrial park in Sulawesi.
Nickel matte is an intermediate product for battery-grade nickel sulphate and is an important feedstock for CNGR. CNGR is one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery cathode precursor manufacturers with a capacity target of 200,000 t/yr by the end of this year. CNGR in March agreed to buy 40,000t of the total 100,000t of nickel matte from Tsingshan Holding Group's Indonesian project. Deliveries are expected to start in December.
Two production lines for the 30,000 t/yr first phase have started construction, with work on the third line and the second phase to start simultaneously. CNGR did not disclose a detailed schedule for the construction.
The CNGR-Rigqueza joint venture ZhongTsing New Energy has CNGR holding a 70pc stake and Rigqueza the remaining 30pc. It also aims to increase its investment to $330mn in the first phase project from an initially planned $243mn because of design improvements by adopting new technology and equipment, as well as covering cost increases for construction materials, logistics and on-site installation and debugging.

