
Hyundai LG Indonesia Green Power, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution and Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), begins production next month at its newly built electric vehicle (EV) battery cell plant in Karawang, West Java, according to local reports citing investment minister Bahlil Lahadalia.
This is south east Asia’s first factory for electric vehicle battery cells.
Following completion of the first phase of investment, of US$1.1bn, the facility will have initial capacity for 10 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of EV battery cells, enough to power 150,000 BEVs.
The minister said: “The plant will produce its first batteries in April,” adding a second phase of investment was s scheduled to start in 2025 which would double capacity to 20 GWh.
Hyundai said it would use the batteries to power its locally made BEVs (Ioniq 5).
Last January, the automaker said it would produce a new BEV in Indonesia later this year powered by batteries made at this joint venture.
Bahlil also said related upstream projects were also scheduled to get under way this year including smelters and production facilities for battery cathodes and precursors.