Indonesia's Giant EV Battery Plant to Operate in July 2026, Here's Its Capacity

Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) has confirmed that the electric vehicle battery plant 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 Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest battery manufacturer from China, through its subsidiary CBL. IBC President Director Aditya Farhan Arif stated that the first-phase production capacity of the EV battery plant reaches 6.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). Construction is progressing on schedule, with operations targeted for the end of July 2026. “The first capacity we will install is 6.9 GWh and, God willing, we are still on schedule. So, July 2026, the end of July 2026. Currently, progress has reached 90%, so we are quite optimistic that we will still achieve the target,” Aditya told CNBC Indonesia on Tuesday (23/6/2026). Aditya explained that when commercial operations begin, the plant will not struggle to find a market because buyers are already secured. He noted that the EV battery industry concept is built on existing demand, allowing production to commence immediately. “In principle, the buyers are ready, so when we are ready for commercial operations, we will directly produce commercially. In fact, trial production is already underway at the PT CATIB plant,” he said. He further explained that the nickel value chain from mining to battery production involves a lengthy process. The stages begin with mining activities, followed by initial processing, then battery material production, and finally battery manufacturing. PT CATIB occupies the most downstream position in this value chain. According to Aditya, the presence of PT CATIB is a crucial part of the entire integrated nickel industry ecosystem. “CATIB’s capacity in this first phase is 6.9 GWh and we will soon expand it to at least 15 GWh. If we convert 15 GWh into electric vehicles, it is roughly equivalent to around 250,000 electric vehicles,” he stated. Indonesia is currently building an integrated EV battery plant ecosystem, claimed to be the largest in Asia, supported by substantial reserves of nickel, the main raw material for battery components. The upstream-to-downstream integrated battery ecosystem project is operated by PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), and Chinese company Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend Co. Ltd. (CBL), a joint venture between CATL, Brunp, and Lygend. The total initial investment for the entire integrated battery project reaches US5.9billion, equivalenttoRp96.04trillion(assuminganexchangerateofRp16, 278perUS). The project comprises six joint ventures (JVs) spanning upstream to downstream activities. JVs one to three form the upstream battery ecosystem, while JVs four to six constitute the downstream ecosystem. Upstream: JV 1 is the PT Sumberdaya Arindo (SDA) nickel mining project with a production capacity of 7.8 million wet metric tons (wmt) of saprolite nickel and 6 million wmt of limonite, totaling 13.8 million wmt, with PT Antam holding a 51% stake and CBL 49%. This project has been in production since 2023. JV 2 is the PT Feni Haltim (FHT) Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace (RKEF) nickel smelter project with a capacity of 88,000 tonnes of refined nickel alloy per year, with CBL holding a 60% stake and PT Antam 40%. This project targets initial production by 2028. JV 3 is the PT Nickel Cobalt Halmahera (HPAL JVCO) High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) nickel smelter project with a capacity of 55,000 tonnes of MHP per year, with CBL holding a 70% stake and PT Antam 30%. This project targets initial production by 2028. Downstream: JV 4 is a battery material project producing cathode materials, cobalt sulphate, and ternary precursors with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes of Li-hydroxide, located in East Halmahera, North Maluku, with CBL holding a 70% stake and PT IBC 30%. This project targets initial production by 2028. JV 5 is the PT Contemporary Amperex Technology Indonesia Battery (CATIB) battery cell project located in Artha Industrial Hill (AIH) and Karawang New Industry City (KNIC). This project is divided into phase 1 with a capacity of 6.9 GWh per year and phase 2 with a capacity of 8.1 GWh per year, totalling 15 GWh per year. CBL holds a 70% stake and PT IBC 30%. Phase 1 targets initial production in 2026, and phase 2 by 2028. JV 6 is a battery recycling project located in East Halmahera, North Maluku, with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes of metal per year, with CBL holding a 60% stake and PT IBC 40%. This project targets an initial start in 2031.