When it comes to battery metals in recent years, the names of lithium, cobalt and nickel will undoubtedly come to mind. Whoever can occupy a larger share in the supply of these types of battery metals will gain more voice in the era of electric vehicles. And right now, Indonesia is definitely coming out on top...

Indonesia jumped to become the world's second-largest cobalt producer last year, behind top-ranked Democratic Republic of Congo, according to figures released by the UK-based Cobalt Institute.

According to the association's data, Indonesia's cobalt production reached 9,500 mt in 2022, a sharp increase of about 2.5 times from 2,700 mt in 2021, surpassing established producers such as Australia and the Philippines.

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Currently, Indonesia already accounts for about 5% of global cobalt production.

The International Cobalt Association predicts in the report that by 2030, the end of this decade, Indonesia is expected to further increase cobalt production by tenfolds, and regularly announce new projects.

Of course, although Indonesia's cobalt production has grown rapidly, there is still a big gap compared with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the world's largest cobalt supplier. The DRC produced 145,000 mt of cobalt last year, accounting for 73% of global cobalt production.

Overall, global cobalt supply jumped 21% to 198,000 mt in 2022, well above the 13% increase in demand. A surge in cobalt supplies from countries such as Indonesia has largely pushed cobalt prices down from $40 a pound in April last year to around $15 by the end of the year. The report predicts that global cobalt prices will remain below $20 per pound this year.

Australia's cobalt production increased from 5,900 mt in 2021 to 7,000 mt last year, and it is now the world's third largest cobalt producer. The Philippines produced 5,400 mt of cobalt last year, ranking fourth.

Cobalt is used in a variety of fields including aerospace materials, magnets and batteries. Among them, the application of automotive batteries has become more and more popular. The battery sector consumed 74,000 mt of cobalt last year, accounting for nearly 40% of total demand, compared with 56,000 mt in 2021, or about 34% of total demand.

In recent years, Indonesian President Joko Widod has been leading a push to develop the battery and electric vehicle industries in the country, which is rich in mineral resources. Indonesia was originally the world's largest nickel producer, and as it also occupied a larger share of cobalt supply last year, it undoubtedly has more say in the field of battery metals.

Forecasts from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence earlier this year suggested that Indonesia's share of global cobalt production would rise to almost 20% by 2030, from around 1% in 2021. The Indonesian expansion "has somewhat reshaped the supply chain in the global cobalt market".

At the G20 summit in November last year, Indonesian investment minister Bahlil Lahadalia once expressed the idea of establishing a "nickel version of OPEC".

It is worth mentioning that the expansion of Indonesia's cobalt industry is largely due to the substantial investment of Chinese companies in the local mining sector. Among the major Chinese investors are Tsingshan Holding Group, the world's largest nickel producer, cobalt refining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and CATL, the largest battery maker.