Bloomberg Businessweek editor Matt Campbell discusses Indonesia's booming nickel industry for electric car batteries, revealing fatal accidents and workers' plight. Major EV makers must navigate ethical challenges sourcing nickel from the country, highlighting the dark side of clean energy revolution.
Nickel from Indonesian mines used in EV batteries poses safety risks due to fatal accidents.
Indonesia's booming nickel industry for EV batteries highlights environmental hazards and labor concerns.
Deep dives
Nickel Industry in Sulawesi
Sulawesi is a crucial hub in the global nickel industry, processing nickel crucial for electric vehicle batteries. The rapid economic growth from the nickel industry has brought both jobs and real consequences like horrific industrial accidents to the region, revealing safety standards concerns.
Indonesian Nickel Industry Impact
Indonesia, with vast nickel reserves, aims for significant growth in the nickel industry, relying on smelting and refining locally to generate employment. However, this success comes at a cost, as highlighted by the deadly incidents and environmental hazards associated with nickel processing.
Challenges and Alternatives in Nickel Supply Chain
Major car companies like Tesla and Hyundai indirectly rely on Indonesian nickel for their EV batteries. Despite efforts to uphold standards, sourcing nickel from Indonesia poses challenges due to economic factors like cheap labor. While nickel remains crucial for most EV batteries, alternative materials like lithium-iron-phosphate batteries are considered, though with limitations.
Indonesia’s nickel business is booming. The metal is a key component in electric car batteries, but its success has a dark side: the country’s nickel mines and processing plants have a history of fatal accidents, with workers being run over by forklifts and burnt to death in smelter fires.
Today on The Big Take Asia, host Janet Paskin speaks with Bloomberg Businessweek editor Matt Campbell about his investigation into the mines. He found that nickel sourced from these plants are present in the supply chain that feeds virtually every major seller of EVs, and is an indispensable part of the car industry’s green revolution.