BASF Taps in Indonesian Nickel Smelter Project
Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik (BASF) will soon invest in Indonesia's nickel and cobalt smelter projects that produce raw materials for electric vehicle batteries. The German chemical company collaborates with Eramet, a French mining company that owns domestic nickel mines through its subsidiary, PT Weda Bay. The project includes constructing a smelter with high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) technology and a base metal refinery (BMR).
"We will fully support BASF's investment plan. We will take care of their investment and monitor it until it's done," Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Bahlil Lahadalia said in a written statement on Sunday. Besides investing in nickel and cobalt refining, BASF will also invest in electric battery component final products.
BASF Board of Executive Director Markus Kamieth appreciates the ministry's commitment to facilitate his company's smelter investment plans. Kamieth also expects the ministry to encourage independent industrial estates to provide proportional electricity from new and renewable energy.