Vale Indonesia to develop HPAL research center in Bahodopi with $20 million investment
Tuesday, January 20 2026 - 06:11 PM WIB
By Cepi Setiadi
IDX-listed integrated nickel miner PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (IDX: INCO) is planning to develop a research and development (R&D) center in Bahodopi, South Sulawesi, with an investment of around US$20 million. The facility will be developed in collaboration with strategic partners as part of the company’s efforts to strengthen domestic capabilities in mineral processing technology.
PT Vale President Director and CEO Bernardus Irmanto said the R&D center is intended to ensure that research activities—particularly related to High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) technology—can be conducted directly in Indonesia.
“At our development project in Bahodopi, we are also establishing a research and development center. Around US$20 million will be invested together with our partners,” Bernardus said during a hearing with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Monday (Jan. 19).
According to Bernardus, the presence of the research center is expected to support the development of technology patents registered under Indonesia’s name, rather than relying on patents held by other countries.
Read also : Vale Indonesia to seek RKAB revision after limited quota approval
“The objective is to ensure that HPAL-related research is carried out in Indonesia and can eventually be registered as Indonesian patents, not foreign patents,” he explained.
Bernardus acknowledged that limited technological mastery remains one of Indonesia’s key challenges in developing mineral processing and refining facilities. To date, the domestic industry has been heavily dependent on foreign technologies.
“We have to acknowledge that one of our biggest constraints is that Indonesia does not yet have its own technology and remains highly dependent on technology from other countries,” he said.
Through the development of the R&D center and the optimization of knowledge transfer, Bernardus expressed hope that Indonesia can enhance its technological capabilities, both in the construction and operation of mineral processing plants in the future.
“With handover and knowledge transfer, as well as the optimization of research and technology, we hope that going forward we will better understand how to build and operate these plants independently,” he concluded.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak