The Indonesian government plans to import an additional 60,000 tons of lithium from Australia to support its ambition of becoming a global producer of electric vehicle batteries. The lithium will be processed in Morowali starting in 2024. The government has requested Australia's participation in the domestic electric vehicle battery production project, with both countries jointly owning the processing and refining facilities. The Australian Prime Minister has approved the request, and the Indonesian Minister of Industry will likely visit Indonesia on July 24 to observe the progress of the downstreaming initiative.
Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan emphasizes the importance of downstreaming as a necessary step, stating that it has already had a positive impact on the national economy. He urges the younger generation to support and actively participate in the downstreaming efforts, emphasizing that it is a must and requires unity. The ongoing downstreaming initiatives have primarily focused on commodities such as nickel and palm oil, and in the future, the government may target downstreaming in the oil and gas sector, aiming to reduce gas exports and establish domestic processing facilities instead.
