Ford Motor Co. will be directly involved in the construction of a nickel battery plant in Indonesia, consolidating its position in the supply chain at a time when automakers look to secure essential materials for electric vehicles.
Alliance for the new nickel battery plant
The American automotive company joins PT Vale Indonesia and the Chinese company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. as investors in a project aimed at the annual production of 120,000 tons of chemical nickel used in batteries for electric vehicles, according to a joint statement issued by the companies. .
The plant, located in Pomalaa, plans to begin commercial production in 2026, with a total investment of $4.5 billion . The statement did not reveal each company’s participation in the investment.
It is important to mention that global automakers are accelerating their efforts to secure long-term supplies of crucial materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, in response to exponential growth in demand.
Indonesia has emerged as a significant source of battery-grade nickel, thanks to a series of investments in refineries in the mineral-rich country, mostly driven by Chinese companies.
For its part, Ford, with plans to manufacture 2 million electric vehicles annually by the end of 2026, already had a previous agreement with Huayou to obtain battery materials from the Pomalaa plant.
“This framework gives Ford direct control to obtain the nickel we need in one of the cheapest ways in the industry and allows us to ensure that nickel is extracted in accordance with our company’s sustainability goals.“Lisa Drake, vice president of industrialization for Ford Model e EV, said in the statement.
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Source: worldenergytrade.com
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