Minister of Investment and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia announced that Indonesia is the first country in the world to establish an electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem. This ecosystem includes everything from nickel raw materials to battery factories and electric vehicle production. Bahlil revealed this during the inauguration of the PT Hyundai LG Indonesia (HLI) Green Power electric vehicle battery factory in Karawang, West Java, on 3 July 2024. "After our discussions, we found that no other country in the world has built an integrated EV battery ecosystem from upstream, from mining to the car. Indonesia is the first to achieve this," said Bahlil in his speech. He noted that the investment value for building this battery factory ranges from USD 1.2 to 1.5 billion, with an additional USD 2 billion planned for the second year. "This marks a new chapter where we witness the inauguration of an integrated EV battery factory," Bahlil added. He expressed gratitude to South Korea for executing the establishment of this EV battery plant. He highlighted that South Korean investments in Indonesia over the last five years, from 2019 to the first quarter of 2024, reached over USD 14 billion or more than IDR 200 trillion. Specifically, Hyundai's cumulative investment in Indonesia, covering both EV batteries and electric vehicles, amounts to USD 11-12 billion. "This is the largest single ecosystem investment in Indonesia, particularly in the battery sector," said Bahlil.
The inauguration of the EV battery ecosystem factory in Karawang, West Java, was attended by the Indonesian government and a consortium from South Korea, including Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. The first battery cell factory, operated by PT Hyundai LG Indonesia (HLI) Green Power, began commercial production of EV batteries in April 2024. PT HLI Green Power is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Company, LG Energy Solution, and PT Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC). This investment follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Investment/BKPM and the Hyundai, LG, and IBC consortium on 28 July 2021. In September 2023, President Jokowi visited PT HLI Green Power to inspect the production process and output of EV battery cells. In its first phase, PT HLI invested USD 1.1 billion, achieving a production capacity of 10 gigawatt hours (GWh), equivalent to 32.6 million battery cells, sufficient for approximately 150,000 electric vehicles. By 2025, in its second phase, PT HLI plans to increase production capacity to 20 GWh.
