According to Bloomberg News, while sales growth in electric vehicles is slowing down, BASF of Germany has announced the termination of plans to build a nickel-cobalt refinery in Indonesia with global mining and metallurgy group Eramet.
Photo source: BASF, In 2020, BASF and Eramet signed an agreement stating that they would jointly evaluate the possibility of building a state-of-the-art nickel-cobalt hydrometallurgical complex.
At the time, the two parties said the proposed plant would include a high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plant and a base metals refining (BMR) plant.
Among them, the HPAL plant will be located in Weda Bay, Indonesia, and the site selection for BMR will be determined during the feasibility study.
, In January last year, Reuters reported that several Indonesian officials said that BASF and Eramet would finalize a cooperation agreement worth US$2.
6 billion, and the investment would be used to build a nickel processing plant in Indonesia to produce electric vehicle batteries.
Nickel Cobalt Hydroxide (MHP), a raw material needed.
At the time, the two companies confirmed they were evaluating a hydrometallurgical project that planned to use Eramet’s Vida Bay mine to produce battery-grade nickel and cobalt, but did not confirm the size of the proposed investment.
Eramet pointed out at the time that the company had not yet made a final investment decision.
On June 24, BASF said in a press release that global supply of battery-grade nickel has improved since the project was conceived and that it believes such a large-scale investment is no longer necessary.
Bloomberg pointed out that sales of electric vehicles are currently growing slowly.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance lowered its forecast for pure electric vehicle sales in 2026 by 6.
7 million units.
In BASF’s home markets, Germany and the United States, the slowdown in electric vehicle sales is particularly significant.
Automakers such as Volkswagen Group, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz have cut or shifted some investment in battery projects.
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