Developing Sustainable Nickel-Based Battery Value Chains in Indonesia and the Philippines
Rising demand is creating more opportunities for Indonesia and the Philippines to capture greater value from their nickel resources and strengthen their role in emerging energy transition supply chains. Amid an increasingly complex outlook for nickel, including oversupply, depressed prices, and declining ore grades, this report assesses how to maximize economic benefits while managing emerging risks.
Key Messages
-
Adopting predictable, yet flexible governance approaches will be key to protecting the investor confidence needed to secure the long-term viability of nickel industries in Indonesia and the Philippines.
-
Indonesia and the Philippines should make exploration and resource security a strategic priority to sustain the long-term competitiveness of their nickel sectors.
-
Reducing logistics inefficiencies and improving energy security will be key to maintaining cost competitiveness and supporting downstream investment. Regional cooperation can lower costs and improve connectivity through coordinated infrastructure planning, logistics systems, and energy integration.
-
Human capital, technological capabilities, and innovation systems will determine how far Indonesian and Filipino firms and workers benefit from nickel midstream and downstream industries. Strengthening skills and innovation capacity must become a central pillar of industrial policy to address this.
Nickel is an indispensable metal for high-energy-density electric vehicle battery technologies. Rising global demand for batteries is creating more opportunities for industrial development along these supply chains. Alongside these opportunities, profound challenges exist for nickel-based industries. Persistent oversupply, depressed prices, declining ore grades, and concerns about environmental, social, and governance expectations are placing pressure on the long-term competitiveness of these industries and threatening to cause severe environmental and social harms in nickel-producing countries.
This report examines how Indonesia and the Philippines can maximize the economic benefits of their nickel resources while managing emerging risks. It argues that success will depend on strengthened national policies as well as deeper cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Key recommendations include boosting the competitiveness of nickel value chains in the two countries while reducing harms through community-centred governance of the industry and stronger environmental regulation.
Participating experts
You might also be interested in
Nickel Mining in Indonesia
This case study describes Indonesia's environmental challenges and associated social issues from nickel mining of laterite ore and examines the country's policy measures for management.
Commodity Profile Fact Sheets
A series of commodity profile fact sheets highlighting key trends, risks, and opportunities across the mining life cycle.
ASEAN-IGF Minerals Cooperation: Scoping study on critical minerals supply chains in ASEAN
IGF-ASEAN study exploring opportunities arising from rising demand for critical minerals and metals to fuel the energy and digital transitions.
Local Content Policies in the Mining Sector: Fostering downstream linkages
The paper, focused on downstream linkages, is part of a set of expert documents to substantiate the IGF Guidance for Governments on local content policies, released in July 2018.