Prabowo to inaugurate CATIB battery plant in Karawang
The facility has operated since July 2026, according to Indonesia Battery Corporation, with initial capacity of 6.9 GWh.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is expected to inaugurate an electric-vehicle battery factory in Karawang, West Java, soon, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on 29 October 2026. The minister said production had already begun and preparations had been reported to the president.
The operator, PT Contemporary Amperex Technology Indonesia Battery (CATIB), is jointly owned by Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) and CBL, a subsidiary of China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL). Prabowo attended the project's groundbreaking on 29 June 2025.
IBC president director Aditya Farhan Arif said at a Jakarta event on 14 September 2026 that the factory had been operating since July. It makes batteries for electric vehicles as well as battery energy storage systems.
The first phase has capacity of 6.9 GWh, with expansion planned to at least 15 GWh. Investment to develop the factory to 15 GWh is estimated at about US$1.2 billion. That capacity could supply batteries for around 250,000 electric vehicles, according to the figures presented.
The site includes a battery-cell production building extending 1 km and an adjacent packing facility. IBC has sent 600 employees to China for training and plans to install solar power capacity of 18 MW peak in 2027.
