Robin Zeng emphasized that two of CATL’s plants in China have been recognised by the World Economic Forum for their low carbon emission efforts. Its Ningde plant is part of the WEF’s so-called Global Lighthouse Network, a community of leading manufacturers applying advanced technologies to drive sustainability and other goals. Its Yibin facility is also certified as a “zero-emission plant”.

“These are the only battery factories in the world being certified … by the WEF,” Zeng told participants at the Business 20 summit in Bali on Sunday, a side event before the G-20 summit of rich and emerging nations on the island on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Zeng added CATL – the world’s biggest battery maker and a Tesla supplier – will “help Indonesia” make “everything green” along the country’s planned battery supply chain, from nickel mining activities to battery production. Zeng said CATL intends to deploy “huge” renewable sources and an energy storage system to support energy-intensive smelting activities in Indonesia.

Indonesia holds 22% of the world’s reserves of nickel, an essential component in electric vehicle batteries, and is keen to tap the resource to secure a key role in the global EV supply chain by developing a domestic battery industry and EV manufacturing capacity. Indonesia’s nickel resources have attracted the likes of CATL and top South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution.

As for automakers, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor earlier this year began full-scale production at its EV factory in Indonesia. Japan’s Toyota Motor and Chinese manufacturers are also showing interest. The chief of state-owned Indonesia Battery Corp (IBC) told Nikkei Asia recently it is in discussion with European carmakers for investment, saying an announcement can be expected in the coming weeks.

Axel Maschka, executive vice president of Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai’s auto parts subsidiary, said it is “planning to establish a foothold” in Indonesia, adding that the country “can be an important hub” for the EV market in Southeast Asia and Australia. Maschka spoke during a separate forum held on Saturday in Bali by BloombergNEF (BNEF), a research provider focused on energy transition.

Pras Ganesh, executive vice president of Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing, told the same event Toyota too “would like to develop the EV value chain” and ecosystem in Indonesia.

“So we are very confident and bullish in terms of Indonesia and in terms of how it will play a role in our EV transition,” Ganesh said. “But in order to do so, we want to ensure that we do it in the right way and really tackle the critical issue, which is about decarbonisation, and maintaining industrial growth and economic development for Indonesia.”

Young Liu, chairman of Taiwanese tech group Foxconn, said during the second day of the Business 20 summit on Monday that it is seeking collaborations with companies in countries to develop their EV ecosystems – including in Indonesia with local coal miner Indika Energy. Liu said not only is an established EV ecosystem a “key to a sustainable economy”, but also “has the potential to impact a country’s GDP … diversify its supply chain and create more jobs”.

Foxconn and Indika are exploring plans to manufacture batteries, electric buses and motorbikes, as well as build battery swap stations in Indonesia.

But some Western makers such as Tesla – which reportedly has been in talks about investments in Indonesia – have refrained from making commitments as environmental concerns continue to shroud nickel mining and processing. Both environmental activists and industry observers have emphasised the highly polluting mining and carbon-intensive smelting activities in Indonesia, where 60% of electricity generation comes from coal.

BNEF said in a report on Saturday that Indonesia ranked 22nd in its 2022 lithium-ion battery supply chain rankings that evaluate 30 countries and their attractiveness as a destination for battery manufacturing – below Turkey, India and Vietnam.

While better than 25th place last year, BNEF said Indonesia’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) score is “still dragged down by its environmental performance, which is ranked the lowest among the 30 countries” listed. But Indonesia is expected to climb to 18th place by 2027 as it is “becoming more attractive for battery manufacturing as it works on improving its performance in key categories, especially on ESG and support industries”.

The country, meanwhile, will make up half of the projected 50 gigawatt-hours of battery cell manufacturing capacity in Southeast Asia by 2025, followed by Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, BNEF said. In comparison, Tesla’s US Gigafactory alone supplies the EV maker with 30 GWh of batteries, according to Colin McKerracher, head of advanced transport at BNEF.

CATL in April announced US$5.97 billion in joint investments with state-owned Indonesian nickel miner Aneka Tambang and IBC. Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, Luhut Pandjaitan, previously said CATL’s investment plans will cover an “end-to-end lithium battery supply chain, from mine to battery cell module and recycling”.

The Chinese battery company has also established QMB New Energy Materials, a joint venture with Chinese stainless steel manufacturer Tsingshan Holding Group and top Chinese battery recycler GEM in Indonesia. In September, QMB inaugurated a battery material plant at a huge nickel processing complex in Central Sulawesi Province controlled by Tsingshan.

“Hopefully by 2024, we can produce lithium ion batteries here with CATL,” Pandjaitan told the Business 20 gathering.