Prabowo Greenlights Huayou to Replace LG in $9.8 Billion EV Battery Project
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JAKARTA, investortrust.id — President Prabowo Subianto has approved a plan for Chinese mining and battery firm Huayou Cobalt to take over Indonesia’s $9.8 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery project, previously led by South Korea’s LG Group. The greenlight clears the way for groundbreaking to begin shortly.
The announcement was made by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia following a closed-door cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
“President Prabowo has decided and approved the Huayou consortium to proceed with the project. There are no more issues. We’re ready to begin groundbreaking,” said Bahlil.
The stalled project had faced delays under LG’s leadership. Bahlil, who led the government’s EV battery task force at the time, explained that the state made the call to revoke LG’s involvement due to slow progress.
“To clarify, LG did not pull out. I, as the task force chairman then, decided to cancel their contract because it dragged on too long. Together with Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir and Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani, we agreed to bring in Huayou as the replacement,” Bahlil said.
The revised project structure will position state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as majority shareholders in the upstream segment of the battery supply chain, according to Bahlil.
The government also discussed a parallel initiative with Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), as part of Indonesia’s effort to build an integrated EV battery ecosystem from mining to manufacturing.
Investment Minister and Head of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Rosan Roeslani — who also serves as CEO of Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara — underscored Danantara’s role in mobilizing funding and strengthening Indonesia’s control over the industry’s value chain.
“In the past, there were issues with financing. Now that Danantara is here, we’re providing the financial support. This is a high-return project that creates jobs and contributes significantly to the economy,” said Rosan.
With Huayou and CATL managing operations from mining through to final battery production, Indonesia aims to secure end-to-end control of the EV battery value chain under what officials described as a “green package.”
“This means the entire ecosystem — from raw materials to battery production — will operate within a single integrated green package. Both Huayou and CATL are aligned with this model,” Rosan explained.
The cabinet meeting was attended by top officials including Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, SOEs Minister Erick Thohir, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, Deputy Industry Minister Faisol Riza, and Danantara Chief Operating Officer Dony Oskaria.