Tesla Motors has proposed working jointly with Indonesia on building electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chains, a senior official in Jakarta said as quoted by Japan's Nikkei Asia.
The Indonesian government received the offer on Thursday, Septian Hari Seto, deputy for investment and mining at the nation's Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment said in a press briefing.
"We are very excited because this Tesla lithium battery technology is among the best in the world. If we have investment from CATL, LG ... plus Tesla, we can learn a lot from here. Because what we ask is a transfer of technology. This is an opportunity to collaborate with three world-class companies with advanced lithium battery technology," Seto said.
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He added there was "potential for cooperation over energy storage system[s]" with the US electric vehicle giant, including "power banks of up to tens of megawatts with the idea of being able to replace peaking power plants when electricity demand far exceeds average usage".
But he cautioned on a potential future deal with the firm, stating: "We can't allow [Tesla involvement] if they only want to take raw materials. [This proposal] is going beyond just taking raw materials".
According to the report, Indonesia has the world's largest global nickel reserves at 23 percent.
The proposal comes just a day after Tesla began producing V3 superchargers at its Shanghai-based Gigafactory 3. The facility will build 10,000 rapid-charging stations a year, allowing China to reach its national EV goals by 2025.
Tesla has begun procuring natural resources amid massive growth in its sales and revenues, with the US electric vehicle firm stating in June last year it would buy cobalt for its battery supply chain from Swiss mining giant Glencore.