MIND ID: Energy Transition to Increase Critical Mineral Demand Fivefold

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) – Novi Muharam, head of MIND ID’s Downstream and Mineral Ecosystem Department, said the energy transition and the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem could increase demand for critical minerals by two to five times by 2050.

“Critical mineral demand is being driven by electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy, batteries and AI. Previously, perhaps only 0.5 kg was needed per megawatt, but data centres now require 4.5–5 kg of tin per megawatt,” Novi said at the Indonesia-Korea Energy Forum (IKEF), held in Sanur, Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday.

Novi said EVs require six times more critical minerals than conventional vehicles.

Meanwhile, renewable energy facilities such as solar power plants and wind farms require four to six times more critical minerals than fossil-fuel-based power plants.

Critical minerals also play an important role in developing battery storage, which is key to electricity grid stability and energy security during the energy transition.

Novi said critical minerals had therefore become central to industrial competitiveness, economic resilience and national security.

“We need greater collaboration, competitive businesses, and a focus on sustainability and the circular economy,” Novi said.

For MIND ID, she added, success is measured not only by mineral volumes, but also by the economic value created and the jobs generated through domestic industrialisation.

The Directorate General of Minerals and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is targeting data centres and energy storage as markets for Indonesia’s mineral downstreaming programme for 2026–2030.

Yan Abrar, the directorate’s coordinator for minerals and coal co-operation and investment, said Indonesia wanted to prioritise downstreaming projects that were commercially viable, environmentally responsible and connected to genuine industrial demand.

The prioritisation criteria reflect an understanding that investment is affected by trade policies, financing and increasingly stringent environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements.

The government is therefore mapping potential markets for products from Indonesia’s mineral downstreaming industry.

“Indonesia is pursuing selective downstreaming, not downstreaming without economic consideration,” Yan said.