Hyundai and LG break ground on EV battery cell plant in Indonesia

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution’s electric vehicle (EV) battery cell plant in Indonesia is now underway. A virtual ground-breaking ceremony was held yesterday, September 15. 

Participants included Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung, Hyundai Mobis President and CEO Sung Hwan Cho, and LG Energy Solution President and CEO Jong-hyun Kim — all of whom virtually attended the ceremony from Korea.

Members of the Indonesian government were also in attendance which included the country’s President Joko Widodo, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, and Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

Also present at the event were CEO of Battery Cell joint ventureHong Woo-pyeong, and Hyundai Motor Company Asia Pacific Head of Asia-Pacific headquarters Youngtack Lee.

“Hyundai Motor Group is focusing its capabilities on becoming a global leader in the EV market, which is the key to securing future competitiveness. The plant is a part of these efforts. Starting with this plant, an EV ecosystem will be successfully established in Indonesia with the development of various related industries. Furthermore, we expect Indonesia to play a key role in the ASEAN EV market,” said Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung.

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian Government in July 2021. Based on the mutual agreement between both parties, Hyundai and LG will establish a joint venture in Indonesia to manufacture battery cells for BEVs.

Hyundai and LG have invested around US$1.1 billion in the joint venture, each owning a 50 percent.

“Today marks a significant step in starting a new era of the EV battery industry in Indonesia, with the establishment of its first battery cell manufacturing plant in the country. Through the joint venture partnership, together, we are now a step closer to establishing the world’s first EV comprehensive supply chain,” commented LG Energy Solution President and CEO Jong-hyun Kim.

Kim added, “LG Energy Solution will do its utmost to foster the joint battery cell manufacturing facility into becoming a key base to take on the global EV market.”

The EV battery cell plant will be built on a 330,000-sqm lot in Karawang New Industry City, near Jakarta. The facility, says Hyundai, is expected to be finished by the first half of 2023. In the following year, Hyundai, LG, and the Indonesian government plan to begin the mass production of battery cells.

The battery cells produced in Karawang will be used in Hyundai Motor and Kia’s EV models built upon the Group’s dedicated BEV platform, Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).

Production in the Karawang is expected to increase as the demand for EV batteries continues to rise.

Photos from Hyundai

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