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Sulphur 420 Sep-Oct 2025

19 September 2025

Deal signed for new HPAL plant

INDONESIA

Deal signed for new HPAL plant

Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara has signed a heads of agreement with Shenzhen-based GEM Limited to jointly develop a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) nickel facility with a capacity of 66,000 t/a of nickel. The project carries an estimated value of $1.42 billion. GEM is a global leader in green metallurgy and circular economy solutions, known for its large-scale recycling of electric vehicle batteries and electronic waste.

Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani said the partnership marks a significant milestone in the fund’s mission to deliver strategic investments that accelerate Indonesia’s socio-economic transformation. “By working with a global pioneer in green metallurgy, we can advance the government’s priority agenda of sustainable downstream mineral industrialisation,” he said.

GEM processes more than 10% of used EV batteries and e-waste in China each year and employs over 11,000 staff across China, South Africa, South Korea, and Indonesia. In Indonesia, the company has invested heavily in nickel-based new energy materials, high-tech nickel industrial parks, joint research labs with local universities, and scholarship programs producing master’s and doctoral graduates in metallurgy. It has also invested $30 million in a joint metallurgical research laboratory with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), aiming to strengthen Indonesia’s role as a hub for green metallurgy research and development.

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