Antara News are reporting that the Indonesian and Australian governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Jakarta on Thursday (23/11/23) for the establishment of a bilateral mechanism to advance their electric vehicle (EV) collaboration.
The MoU was signed by Indonesian ad interim Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Erick Thohir, and Ed Husic, Australian Minister for Industry and Science.
“Indonesia and Australia not only have close geopolitical ties, but both also have abundant mineral resources, as well as the opportunity to become key players in the global electric vehicle supply chain,” Thohir said during the MoU signing event.
He went on to say that the MoU was a follow-up to a commitment to advance cooperation and collaboration in the EV industry, which was announced by the Indonesian president and the Australian prime minister at the Annual Leaders’ Meeting.
The bilateral mechanism will support relationships involving mutually beneficial cooperation as well as collaboration in mapping the EV supply chain and ecosystem and sharing best practices regarding environment, social, and good governance standards, say Antara News, who report that it will also support knowledge transfer, enable new business-to-business partnerships, and involve the formation of a joint steering committee to guide work flow and monitor collaboration results.
Thohir said that nickel and lithium are the two main minerals used in EV batteries.
“Indonesia has developed the nickel downstreaming industry toward the electric vehicle ecosystem in the last five years. There are three factories in Indonesia that are operating to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate, the basic material for battery precursors,” he said.
The minister noted that several battery manufacturing projects are expected to start in the next few years.
“We believe this MoU can be a milestone for real collaboration to achieve this shared ambition,” Thohir said.
Source: Antara News
