German-French joint venture to build nickel plant in Indonesia

Illustrative image (Photo: Bloomberg)

Jakarta (VNA) -  Germany's BASF and French miner Eramet are finalising a 2.6 billion USD partnership deal to invest in a facility in Indonesia to process nickel for use in batteries for electric vehicles, reported the Indonesian Ministry of Investment on January 18.

ASF CEO Martin Brudermüller was quoted by the ministry as saying: “We would like to convey that our agreement with Eramet is at the final stage. It is likely that our decision will be taken in the first half of 2023.”

According to Eramet’s recent investor presentation, the project involves the development of a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant in Indonesia’s Weda Bay to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from nickel. The new plant is expected to be commissioned in early 2026, subject to a final investment decision.

The project would be 51% owned by Eramet while BASF is expected to hold the remaining 49%. The plant is anticipated to have a capacity of up to 67,000 tonnes of nickel and around 7,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in MHP./.