A “large” reserve of lithium has been discovered in Indonesian territory, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, revealed at a press conference on his ministry’s performance on Friday, December 22, 2023. 

As quoted by Antaranews, Minister Luhut said the reserve would be used to support the country’s domestic production of electric vehicles (EVs) – an endeavor that has been mainly led by investors from China and South Korea. 

He declined to provide further details however, stating only that, through the discovery, Indonesia would be able to reduce its dependence on raw material imports. 

"We were very concerned about (finding) lithium. We were looking to import them from Australia, but now, we have them, and the resource is so large," he said. 

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel – a critical component of EVs – with an estimated 1.6 million metric of the metal produced in 2022. The country has used this fact to leverage its ambition to become a global hub for EV manufacturing and has succeeded in drawing a number of investors to produce EV batteries domestically. 

At the same occasion, the ministry’s Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation Rachmat Kaimuddin said Indonesia’s automotive industry was developing quite well, despite still being relatively small in terms of the global market.  

He noted that the current national production of automotives had reached 1.4 million cars annually, out of which 400 thousand are meant for the export market. 

He added that the government was targeting to produce 600 thousand electric cars in the next seven years or by 2030. 

Indonesia's current EV production capacity is still relatively small, at between 30,000 and 40,000. 

"In seven years, that 30,000 to 40,000 must increase to 600,000, which we need to prepare for. And of course, it’s not just about the factories; we also need to prepare the market and ensure the readiness of refueling infrastructure. We are optimistic, and hard work is necessary,” he said.