Subsidiaries of Indonesian state-owned oil firm Pertamina and Indonesian electric vehicle (EV) firm Electrum have agreed to jointly develop a battery pack for two-wheeled EVs.
The Pertamina subsidiaries involved are Pertamina New and Renewable Energy (PNRE) and Pertamina Patra Niaga (PPN), with the companies to complete the supply chain for battery production in Indonesia. This deal is a continuation of a previous EV ecosystem agreement signed in 2022 between PNRE and Electrum.
The realisation of an EV ecosystem, complete supporting facilities and other well-organised infrastructure will make it easier for people to switch to EVs, Pertamina said on 26 June.
"So we will build an assembly line with a capacity of up to 250 thousand per year," said PPN director and Electrum managing director Patrick Adhiatmadja. "If all these factories are built, it will be enough for four assembly lines, more or less up to 1mn production."
"Indonesia has great potential and opportunity to become a leader in the battery industry for electric vehicles, co-operation between parties will further accelerate the formation of an electric vehicle ecosystem," said PNRE's director of strategic planning and business development Fadli Rahman. "If the electric vehicle ecosystem has been formed and is solid, then the energy transition will materialise more quickly."
Firms in other parts of the region have also been agreeing battery-related deals, with some focusing on recycling critical minerals used in battery production.
Canada-headquartered firm RecycLiCo Battery Materials agreed to form a 50:50 joint venture with Taiwanese firm Zenith Chemical to build a 2,000 t/yr lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Taiwan, according to RecycLiCo on 12 June. The initial plant is estimated to cost $25mn and will process and convert lithium-ion battery waste into lithium-ion battery precursor cathode active material, lithium hydroxide monohydrate and lithium carbonate.
