Indonesia tightens control on nickel as US, China scramble

Indonesia is tightening state control over the world's largest nickel supply after years of betting the metal would anchor a homegrown electric-vehicle industry, and just as global demand begins shifting away from heavy reliance on nickel.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

The move could still ripple through global EV supply chains as the United States and China compete for critical minerals. Indonesia sits at the centre of the nickel market: its share of global supply jumped to about 60 per cent in 2024 from 31.5 per cent in 2020, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, after former President Joko Widodo banned raw ore exports, drawing a surge of Chinese-backed investment into refining.

Jakarta hoped that control over nickel would underpin a fully domestic EV industry, from mining and batteries to finished cars. Experts say that promise was used to justify forest clearing and mining expansion in the name of the energy transition, even as climate risks deepened.