Excerpt and Photo Credit from eco-business.com
In July 2024, then president Joko Widodo said Indonesia must “become a global player in the EV supply chain”. He was speaking at the inauguration of a Hyundai EV and battery factory in Karawang, West Java, where government officials declared the country’s commitment to strengthening its EV production “ecosystem”.
Indonesia, with its large supplies of several metals used in EVs – such as nickel, copper and bauxite – has taken several steps towards doing so. But in the background of these ambitions lie concerns about the nickel industry’s impacts on local communities. Experts say that without major changes to the law, local people will continue to suffer from impacts already documented in existing projects.