Indonesia has suggested US electrical vehicle (EV) producer Tesla to build an EV battery plant in the country, Indonesia's coordinating Minister of investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on May 20.

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on May 30 revealed that the country can receive an estimated 31.9 billion USD in investments for project tied to battery supply chain by 2026.

Automakers and raw material extraction companies are eyeing the nickel industry in Indonesia as the race to secure raw materials for EV batteries continues to heat up.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo said his government will soon consider halting the export of unprocessed copper ores to encourage domestic processing of raw materials in the country’s industrialisation push, following a similar policy on nickel and bauxite.

Vietnam has the opportunity to be at the forefront of the global movement towards the electrification of transport, so demand for nickel in Vietnam will continue to rise, experts have said.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry of Indonesia on September 2 announced the country will stop exporting nickel from January 1 next year to boost domestic metallurgy amid concerns over limited nickel reserves.