China headquartered- Huayou Cobalt Co., one of the leading suppliers of cobalt in the world, has reportedly made it to the front page following its union with EV maker EVE Energy and others to furnish and develop a USD 2.08 billion nickel and cobalt venture in the Indonesian province.

Speculations have it that Indonesia is emerging as one of the global hotspots for EV battery supply chains and apparently this fact has prompted the teams to realize the project in the region.

Apart from its investment in the nickel and cobalt project, the Chinese cobalt supplier has also laid off a lumpsum of USD 210 million to hold a stake in China’s EV battery raw material manufacturer, Tianjin B&M Science and Technology Co. This move comes ahead of the company’s mission of holding a prominent spot in the global rechargeable battery supply chain.

An official source close to Huayou mentioned that the cobalt-centered Chinese mining firm would potentially hold a 20% stake in the Indonesian venture, PT Huayu Nickel Cobalt. When in effect, the latter would be essaying the role of the third battery nickel smelter project for Huayou in the country.

Importantly, Huayou’s latest cobalt smelter project in the Indonesian sub-continent would be situated at Halmahera island’s Weda Bay, where Huayou had already partnered with Tsingshan Holding in a nickel project.

Reports suggest that the USD 2.08 billion project is expected to generate about 15,000 tons of cobalt and 120,000 tons of nickel yearly on a continuous basis.

For the uninitiated, Huayou Cobalt had recently announced partnering with Posco, a South Korean steel company, in an attempt to set up a recycling business for Li-ion battery from electric cars. It has been reported that the partners have already established a 65:35 JV labelled, Posco Hy Clean Metal.

Source Credit: https://www.financial-world.org/news/news/business/7729/huayou-invests-in-21bn-indonesia-nickel-project-teams-up-with-eve-energy/