August 8, 2025: Indonesia plans to import EV battery materials from Australia because of soaring transport costs in sourcing materials from Africa.

Indonesia’s energy and mineral resources minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, said on August 5 the move was needed to ensure raw material supplies for Indonesia’s nascent EV battery manufacturing sector, the country’s Antara news agency reported.

Lahadalia said developing an EV battery ecosystem was one of the government’s priorities and would require increased imports of materials such as nickel, manganese, cobalt, and lithium.
“One of the countries we will collaborate with is Australia. All this time, we brought things from Africa.”

Lahadalia said it would be more cost effective to switch to taking imports from Australia.

According to Antara, Indonesia’s deputy coordinator of the task force for downstreaming and national energy security acceleration, Dimas Muhamad, said the country was still reliant on collaboration with foreign investors and foreign technological capabilities.

Indonesia’s ambition to become an EV battery manufacturing hub in Asia was dealt a major blow in April, with LG Energy Solution’s withdrawal from a partnership project.

Fathul Nugroho, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Energy, Mineral and Coal Suppliers Association, confirmed then that the South Korean battery giant had withdrawn as leader of a consortium for the so-called Titan project.

However, Indonesia kick-started construction of an EV battery ‘mega project’ in West Java in July, backed by a combined investment worth around $6 billion.

President Prabowo Subianto attended the ceremonial launch of the project in Karawang, which he said would incorporate battery materials production, battery manufacturing and recycling, nickel mining and processing.

The project is a joint initiative of Indonesia’s state-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang, the state-owned investment holding company PT and Indonesia Battery Corporation, in collaboration with Chinese firm Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend.