Overview

President Joko Widodo was widely reported to have discussed a prospective nickel industry-related cooperation during a recent and much-publicized meeting with Elon Musk, the world-renowned CEO of both Tesla Motors and SpaceX that was held in Boca Chica, United States.[1] The meeting has been linked by many to Indonesia’s ongoing attempts to secure investment, specifically regarding the use of nickel as a major component in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries.[2] Although Tesla Motors is currently switching its supply chains from the use of limonite and cobalt-nickel ores to lithium iron phosphate,[3] the demand for nickel ores is nevertheless predicted to surge by as much as 250 million tons per year by 2025 according to Meidy K. Lengkey, Secretary-General for the Indonesian Nickel Miners Association (Asosiasi Penambang Nikel Indonesia/APNI).[4] This trend, which is deemed to have been boosted by the Paris Agreement and by new and renewable energy targets, is also being accelerated by large coal mining companies, which have been expanding their business activities of late and investing in both the upstream and downstream nickel industries.[5]