Giant EV Battery Factory in Indonesia to Start Production in July 2026

The Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) has confirmed that the electric vehicle battery factory owned by PT Contemporary Amperex Technology Indonesia Battery (CATIB) in Karawang, West Java, will begin operations at the end of July 2026. PT CATIB is a joint venture between IBC and CBL, a subsidiary of China’s largest battery producer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL). IBC President Director Aditya Farhan Arif stated that the first phase of the factory will have a production capacity of 6.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). Construction is progressing on schedule, currently at 90 percent completion, with commercial operations targeted for the end of July 2026. Arif explained that the plant will not face difficulties finding a market, as the industry concept is built on existing demand, allowing production to commence immediately. Trial production is already underway at the PT CATIB facility. He noted that the nickel value chain, from mining to battery production, is a lengthy process. PT CATIB occupies the most downstream position in this chain, making it a vital part of the integrated nickel industry ecosystem. The first phase capacity of 6.9 GWh will be expanded to at least 15 GWh, which is equivalent to powering approximately 250,000 electric vehicles. The factory is part of a larger integrated EV battery ecosystem in Indonesia, claimed to be the largest in Asia, supported by the country’s substantial nickel reserves. The upstream-to-downstream project is operated by PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), IBC, and China’s Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend Co. Ltd. (CBL), a joint venture of CATL, Brunp, and Lygend. The total initial investment for the entire integrated project is US$5.9 billion, or approximately Rp 96.04 trillion. The ecosystem comprises six joint ventures. The upstream segment includes a nickel mining project by PT Sumberdaya Arindo with a capacity of 13.8 million wet metric tons, which began production in 2023; an RKEF smelter project by PT Feni Haltim with a capacity of 88,000 tonnes of refined nickel alloy, targeting production by 2027; and an HPAL smelter project by PT Nickel Cobalt Halmahera with a capacity of 55,000 tonnes of MHP, targeting 2028. The downstream segment includes a battery materials project in East Halmahera producing cathode materials, cobalt sulphate, and ternary precursors with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes of Li-hydroxide, targeting 2028; the PT CATIB battery cell project in Karawang with a total capacity of 15 GWh across two phases; and a battery recycling project in East Halmahera with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes of metal per year, targeting 2031.