ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Indonesia and Australia have agreed to work together to build the electric vehicle (EV) industry.
This is in the context of commitments announced by the President of the Republic of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of the Australian Commonwealth at the Annual Leaders’ Meeting to advance cooperation in the electric vehicle industry.
This agreement was realized through a Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of a Bilateral ‘Mechanism’ to Advance Electric Vehicle Collaboration between Indonesia and Australia.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Ad Interim of the Republic of Indonesia, Erick Thohir and the Australian Minister of Industry and Science Ed Husic, Thursday, 23 November 2023.
This bilateral mechanism will facilitate mutually beneficial working relationships, as well as collaboration in mapping the electricity supply chain and ecosystem, sharing best practices regarding social environmental standards and governance (ESG).
Then support knowledge transfer, facilitate new business-to-business partnerships and form joint steering committees to drive workflows and unify collaboration results.
“Indonesia and Australia not only have geopolitical proximity, but both also have abundant mineral resources, as well as the opportunity to become key players in the global electric vehicle supply chain,” said Erick.
Erick said that nickel and lithium are the two main minerals used in electric vehicle batteries.
“Indonesia has developed its nickel downstream industry towards the electric vehicle ecosystem in the last 5 years. There are 3 factories in Indonesia operating to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate, the basic material for battery precursors. Apart from that, several battery manufacturing projects have also been planned to start in several years in the future,” said Erick.
World lithium reserves
Meanwhile, Australia has 24% of the world’s lithium reserves (second after Chile). Australia even accounts for 43% of global lithium extraction in 2022.
Australia can benefit from these abundant lithium resources by collaborating with Indonesia—which has developed a nickel industry—in building a new axis for the electric vehicle battery ecosystem, as well as establishing alliances.
“With the commitment from the Australian Government to assign representatives from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, we are confident that this Memorandum of Understanding can become a “a real collaboration milestone to achieve this shared ambition,” concluded Erick. (AT Network)
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