Indonesia is the world's largest producer of nickel, which is used in electric car batteries. More than 20 nickel smelters have been created so far, and many more are being built. The nickel supply chain is largely in Chinese hands. Indonesia's export of nickel products has increased eightfold in the past two years.
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Source: UN Comtrade 2022; Indonesia Statistics Agency 2022
For 2022, the Indonesian Ministry of Investment had announced an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) by almost 50 percent. The main reason for this is the further processing of nickel. The economy of the nickel province of Central Sulawesi grew by 15.1 percent in 2022 (Indonesia as a whole: +5.3 percent). There is now an urgent need to build transmission lines there in order to meet the increasing demand for electricity.