CATL Performs Groundbreaking Ceremony for $6B Battery Gigafactory in Indonesia
On 29 June 2025, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) officially carried out a groundbreaking ceremony for its new battery gigafactory in Karawang, Indonesia. The project is a partnership among CATL, Brunp Recycling (a CATL subsidiary), Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), Aneka Tambang and Lygend Resources. The state-of-the-art gigafactory required an investment to the tune of USD 5.9 billion and the plant is designed for a 15 GW annual capacity and is expected to be completed by 2028.
During his speech, Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia outlined Indonesia’s ambitious plan to develop into a fully vertically-integrated EV manufacturing hub in the region. In the first phase, it will produce enough batteries for 300,000 electric vehicles (EV) annually. In addition to car batteries, the factory will produce batteries for solar farms. In the 2nd phase which is already on the drawing board, the capacity will increase to 40 GW per year.
Covering 3,000 hectares, the Karawang plant is forecasted to support some 8,000 direct and indirect jobs. The gigafactory will catalyze another 18 major infrastructure projects, including a multi-purpose seaport.
Indonesia is a major producer of Nickel in the world and Nickel is one of the #CriticalMinerals that go into the manufacturing of rechargeable high-density batteries. Most of Indonesia’s nickel comes from the region of North Maluku’s East Halmahera Regency and an industrial park focused on battery production is in the pipeline as part of Indonesia’s ambition to become a major player in the global battery manufacturing space.
The industrial park will require an investment of USD 4.7 billion and will include five key components: battery material smelting, nickel mining, nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode manufacturing, and a battery recycling. The industrial park is expected to become fully operational by 2031.
Until the battery ecosystem is fully functional, the Karawang gigafactory will have to rely on imported materials from China. Initially, 30% of the battery produced will be exported, mainly to Japan, India and the US.
Originally slated for completion in 2023, the Karawang project faced delays due to power shortage. The Indonesian government has now resolved the issue by building two coal-fired power plants generating 400 MW of power. Critics have been quick to point out that the coal-fired plants produce quite a bit of harmful emissions but one has to make certain compromises on the journey of #EnergyTransition. In consideration for the environment, the Government of Indonesia has also built a 24 MW solar plant and planned for the recovery of waste heat.
In addition to CATL, Indonesia is in talks with US mining giant Freeport, South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, and China’s BYD to expand their investments into the battery industry. Indonesia ambitions to leverage its mineral wealth to evolve a major player in the battery global supply chain (#GSC).