Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt $603799.SS has been appointed as the new strategic investor in one of Indonesia's largest electric vehicle (EV) battery production projects, replacing South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) $373220.KS. This announcement was made by Indonesia's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahil Lahadalia, underscoring the country’s ambitions to enhance its battery manufacturing capabilities and capitalize on its abundant mineral resources.
South Korea’s LG Energy Solution $373220.KS has announced its decision to withdraw from a high-profile Indonesian project aimed at manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles. Valued at 142 trillion rupiahs (approximately 8.45 billion USD), the project initially envisioned a comprehensive investment in the entire electric vehicle battery supply chain. This move reflects a strategic pivot in response to evolving market conditions and investment climates.
CATL, the leading Chinese battery manufacturer for electric vehicles, has recently marked a turning point in its financial performance. In the first quarter of 2025, the company recorded a significant surge in net profit, reporting an increase of 32.9% year-on-year to reach 14 billion yuan (approximately 1.91 billion USD). Meanwhile, revenue experienced a modest upward trend of 6.2%, climbing to 84.7 billion yuan. These improvements come on the heels of a five-year period of declining revenue, reflecting the effectiveness of CATL’s strategic operational enhancements and process optimizations.
The project to construct an HPAL plant for processing nickel and cobalt is poised to be a milestone for Indonesia’s downstream raw materials industry. PT Merdeka Battery Materials secured a secured loan worth USD 1.4 billion to finance a new facility on the island of Sulawesi. The plant will produce nickel and cobalt chemicals used in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries. This strategic move comes at a time when Indonesia, responsible for over half of the world’s nickel production, is actively expanding its local refining industry amid falling nickel prices and constrained ore supplies.
