South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery materials producer EcoPro Group has agreed to build a battery cathode plant in Indonesia with China’s Green Eco-Manufacture (GEM) Company Ltd to tap into the country’s abundant nickel resources.

The two companies have strengthened their strategic partnership this year with EcoPro investing US$11m for a 9% stake in a nickel smelting factory majority owned by GEM located on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. As part of the deal, EcoPro secured an annual supply of 6,000 tons of nickel based mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a raw precursor material.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The two companies have agreed to jointly build an integrated cathode materials production plant, likely to be located near their nickel smelting factory in North Morowali Regency of Central Sulawesi. Nickel accounts for around 40% of the cost of manufacturing typical battery cathodes.

EcoPro said it had agreed to strengthen its collaboration with GEM, through its battery materials unit EcoPro GM Company, on the overall cathode materials ecosystem from raw mineral mining, smelting, precursors and cathodes. Through their partnership, the two companies aim to overcome the current slowdown in the global battery electric vehicle (BEV) demand which has depressed prices for battery materials.

EcoPro chairman and founder, Lee Dong-che, said in a statement: “We have agreed to pursue a project in Indonesia for an integrated system which covers smelting, precursors and cathode materials, based on the strong trust established with GEM over the past decade.”

See Also:

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.