GEM will construct matte capacity in Morowali, while POSCO capacity will be located at Weda Bay

Major battery cathode manufacturers GEM (China) and POSCO (South Korea) have announced further investment in battery nickel feedstock capacity in Indonesia to supplement aggressive cathode active material (CAM) output targets.

GEM revealed a US$500M joint venture investment through wholly-owned GEM (Wuxi) Energy Materials, which owns a 51% share, along with Singapore’s Cahaya Jaya Investment (26%) and Weiming (Hong Kong) International Holdings (18%). The plant, which will be located at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), will produce 20ktpy Ni-in-matte and represent further investment in the Southeast Asian country by GEM.

Meanwhile, POSCO said it would invest US$440M in a smelting plant at the Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) on Halmahera Island to produce 39ktpy Ni-in-matte. The move follows an initial agreement signed by POSCO with Chinese Ningbo Lygend in February to construct a 120ktpy Ni-in-MHP high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant (designed over two stages) in Sulawesi. The South Korean battery materials producer has ambitious targets to secure 220kt of nickel by 2030.

As well as the well-documented HPAL plants that have been successfully commissioned in Indonesia, there has also been heavy investment in matte processing capacity. Up until 2021, the only matte produced in the country came from PT Vale Indonesia’s Sorowako operation. Significantly for nickel matte, its production benefits from an absence of the voluminous tailings waste associated with the MHP-producing HPALs, but is, however, highly energy and carbon intensive. Additionally, intermediates produced this way do not provide the valuable by-product cobalt that MHP offers.

Nickel matte’s importance as a key feedstock for battery chemical producers will continue to grow and Project Blue counts in the region of 400ktpy Ni-in-matte capacity at the planning stage of development in Indonesia, which includes converted NPI lines. Matte exports from Indonesia have surged by 52%py over the past five years, a clear indication of the product’s popularity, particularly in China.