MBG Group jumps into nickel development in Indonesia

South Korea?s MBG Group said it plans to break ground for its refining factory for nickel sulfate in Indonesia in November of this year, koreaherald.com reported.

The news portal said the factory is slated to produce nickel sulfate for EV batteries as early as late next year. The company has started plans to diversify into nickel sulfate production, a key material for the production of EV batteries, in anticipation of growing demand for electric cars in the future.

The company bought a 3.1 million-square-meter factory site and a 2.3 million-square-meter nickel mine in Indonesia. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with local 23 mine owners to supply 155,000 hectares of nickel meteorite.

MBG Group said it will be capable of producing around 30,000 tons of nickel sulfate initially and plans to supply the chemical to Korean leading battery makers and other global EV battery makers.

?We are capable of supplying more than 15,000 tons of nickel sulfate to Korean battery companies around 2020 when demand for EV is expected to soar. The remains can be supplied to other foreign firms,? said Lim Dong-pyo, chief executive of MBG Group as quoted by koreaherald.com.

MBG is originally a company specialized in bio science. When Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus broke out in 2013, the firm made its name known by launching eco-friendly sterilized antiseptic solution Medi HOCL. (*)