Indonesia has more nickel than it knows what to do with. The metal is a key component in some electric vehicle batteries—and almost half of the world’s supply is produced in the sprawling island nation. But that’s not enough for Prabowo Subianto, the new president, who wants to do more than just mine the mineral. He wants to use it to build a top-to-bottom electric-car supply chain. But just because the country has a near monopoly on nickel, should it really make EVs?
Hosts: Ethan Wu and Mike Bird. Guests: Septian Hario Seto, Indonesian former deputy minister of investment and mining coordination; and Putra Adhiguna, managing director at the Energy Shift Institute, a think tank focusing on Asia’s energy transition.
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