China's Chengxin and Tsingshan team up for US$350 million Indonesia lithium project

The Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi. - Jakarta Post/ANN

JAKARTA, Sept 25 (Reuters): China's Shenzhen Chengxin Lithium Group Co Ltd and an affiliate of steel and nickel giant Tsingshan Holding Group will invest in a US$350 million Indonesian lithium project to capture demand from the electric vehicle (EV) battery sector.

Tsingshan, which shook up the global nickel market by rapidly increasing production at low cost in Indonesia, is moving into lithium at a time when prices for the commodity are soaring amid booming EV sales in top market China.