The Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that Indonesia’s export value of nickel resources soared to Rp. 519 trillion or US$33.8 billion in 2022, of which US$14.3 billion was from iron and steel exports. The achievement was mainly due to President Joko Widodo’s downstream mining policy requesting raw materials processed domestically for higher added value.

Luhut also said that Indonesia aimed to have the ability to produce its own lithium batteries by 2025 and to become the world’s third-largest lithium battery producer in 2027 or 2028, as a result of its future investment plan of US$31.9 billion in developing the supply chain for the domestic battery industry until 2026.