Danantara CEO: Mineral Processing Industry Supports National Strategic Needs

Danantara Indonesia CEO Rosan Roeslani has asserted that Indonesia must become a sovereign player in the global supply chain. Speaking at the Danantara Advanced Materials Industry Dialogue in Jakarta, he stated the event aimed to strengthen synergy and collaboration among stakeholders in formulating an integrated and sustainable development direction for advanced materials, aligned with the national development agenda. He noted that for too long, the added value of Indonesia’s mineral wealth has been enjoyed by other nations. “It is time for Indonesia to move up the value chain in advanced materials. Indonesia is blessed with extraordinary mineral wealth, from nickel, bauxite, copper, and tin, to rare earth elements,” Rosan said. He highlighted that these materials form the foundation of future technologies, such as electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors, defence systems, and medical devices. However, for decades, Indonesia has too often stopped at the extraction stage, exporting raw materials only to buy back finished products at many times the price. During the event, a memorandum of understanding on the development of advanced materials was signed between PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (Persero), PT LEN Industri (Persero), PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk, and PT Perminas (Persero). Rosan explained that this cooperation aims to optimise the supply-offtake of critical minerals and advanced materials for domestic strategic industrial needs, accelerate the realisation of a large-scale national advanced materials industry through joint technology development, and drive high-value-added national economic growth through strategic industrial programmes. These programmes include, but are not limited to, national electric cars and motorcycles, aerospace, maritime, basic components, defence, and electricity. Danantara Indonesia Chief Technology Officer Sigit P Santosa stated that the development of the mid-stream advanced materials industry must be viewed as part of the national industrial transformation towards a technology-based economy, high-value-added manufacturing, and mastery of the future supply chain. He argued that Indonesia must be able to capture regional demand opportunities, build technological capabilities, and compete in the global market to achieve a sustainable economic scale. “The development of the advanced materials industry needs to be directed in a more integrated manner as a foundation to strengthen national industrial competitiveness,” Sigit said. He assessed that Indonesia’s strength lies not only in the availability of minerals but also in the ability to transform them into an advanced materials industrial ecosystem that supports batteries, clean energy, defence, transportation, and various future strategic technologies. Sigit noted that nickel remains an important advantage, but the larger agenda is to build a broader, high-value-added, and globally competitive industrial capacity.