Nickel pig iron producer Nickel Industries sent invites to electric vehicle and battery players as it aims to gain more investors for its Indonesian factory, including Tesla.
Nickel Industries holds a 55% stake in the factory, while its partner Chinese stainless steel maker Tsinghsn owns the other 45%. However, the company is now looking for investors for up to 20% stake as Tsinghsn cuts its holdings.
“We would be open to an automaker taking a stake.”
CEO Justin Werner
Announcement details
According to CNA, Nickel Industries CEO announced the invitations to major industry players on Monday.
Apart from Tesla, some of the companies include Japanese battery giant Panasonic and Swedish battery maker Northvolt, among others.
The move is part of the company’s plans to expand its business to producing high-purity nickel for electric vehicle batteries. In order to do that, Nickel Industries is developing a $2.3 billion factory in Morowali, Indonesia.
Nickel Industries expects the factory to produce and supply crucial components like nickel sulphate, matte, and mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP).
Production capacity
As mentioned, Nickel Industries’ high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) factory in Indonesia will manufacture MHP products.
The company expects the factory to finish construction by 2025, which can hit an annual production of about 70,000-80,000 tonnes of nickel products.
Nickel Industries apparently aims to secure customers for the products manufactured at the plant by mid-2024. It will provide approximately 7,000 to 8,000 tonnes of MHP and about 10,000 tonnes of class 1 nickel.
It is also worth noting that the company aims to release 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of MHP, cathode, or nickel sulfate, depending on market situations.
Tesla’s potential investment in Indonesia
According to Teslarati, Indonesian Coordinating Minister Luhut Panjaitan and Tesla Chief Elon Musk had a meeting last September.
However, the Minister implied after the meeting that the country has yet to gain Tesla’s investment. The Tesla boss apparently has concerns over the global economy, impeding potential investments.
“Tesla, Inc. which apparently is currently delaying investments in any country. There are two things that cause, namely; overproduction and poor global economic conditions today.”
Indonesian Coordinating Minister Luhut Panjaitan stated in an Instagram post (Translated into English)
In hindsight, CEO Musk already warned investors about the current and future situation of the global economy at the recent Q3 2023 Earnings Call. He also implied plans to take extra measures with its Giga Mexico investments due to high-interest issues.
Nonetheless, Indonesian President Joko Widodo assured people monitoring the discussions that the American billionaire is still negotiating with the government.
“Indonesia is still communicating with Tesla. We continue to communicate with Elon Musk. Yes, we’re still talking to Elon Musk.”
Indonesian President Joko Widodo
Considering Indonesia’s abundant nickel deposits, it would not be surprising if Tesla would soon invest in its industry. Indonesia currently manufactures over 50% of the world’s nickel, potentially claiming almost three-quarters of the supply by 2030.
