JAKARTA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia kicked off on Wednesday the second phase of construction of an electric vehicle (EV) battery production facility at the Batang Industrial Estate (KITB) in Central Java province.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who inaugurated the construction launch, said the battery production facility would be the first in the world that would integrate the upstream and downstream production elements of EV, from nickel mining, smelter facility, precursor factory, cathode factory, electric batteries production, battery packs production to EV production and battery recycling industry.
"I am glad that the construction of the electric battery industry has commenced," Widodo said in a press statement, hoping that Indonesia would become a leading manufacturer of nickel-based products as the country had the world's largest nickel reserves.
Widodo said that LG Energy Solution, a global battery cell manufacturer, was set to invest 142 trillion rupiahs (9.8 billion U.S. dollars) to the KITB as the company would produce batteries for electric vehicles with a capacity of 3.5 million units and 200 gigawatts annually.
"It is not a small amount. And I am glad that there will be 20,000 people that can be employed here," he said.
The president added that the EV battery industry was part of the country's commitment to building a green economy in the future. ■