On March 30, 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia, Huayou Cobalt and PT Vale announced the signing of a series of agreements with the global automaker Ford Motor. Indonesian President Joko Widodo attended the signing ceremony and delivered a speech.

Based on a tripartite partnership, the three companies jointly will sign a definitive agreement and make equity investments in the High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) Project in the Pomalaa Mine, in order to promote sustainable smelting and production of nickel in Indonesia, and work together to make electric vehicle battery manufacturing more cost-effective.

▲Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivered a speech

In the speech, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said, "I request all mining enterprises in Indonesia to strengthen ESG governance and practice ESG concept like PT Vale, and actively protect the ecological environment and assume social responsibilities together with companies such as Huayou and Ford Motor, which will have important educational significance for children to establish environmental protection awareness. Because it is not only our generation that will benefit greatly from mining activities, our future generations will also benefit.

▲Contract signing among Huayou Cobalt, PT Vale, and Ford Motor

Lisa Drake, Vice President of Electric Vehicle Industrialization at FordModele, said that this framework enables Ford to directly control the source of nickel metal materials we need, which is one of the lowest cost methods in the industry and also ensures that nickel mining meets our company's sustainable development goals, and that we can set the suitable ESG standards while expanding our scale. This collaborative approach will enable Ford to help millions of people more easily access to electric vehicles and better protect humanity and the planet.

"This cooperation consensus not only foreshadows what we are mining, but more importantly, how we are mining," said Febriany Eddy, CEO of PT Vale. We have incorporated environmental, social, and governance criteria (ESG) into everything we do. Therefore, we have established a unique partnership with the global automaker Ford Motor and the world leading mineral processor Huayou to jointly invest in this project. The global cooperation model is in line with Indonesia's vision of establishing a domestic electric vehicle ecosystem, making PT Vale an important contributor to addressing the world's decarbonization challenges. Its investment will generate local economic benefits and ensure the optimal utilization of Indonesia's nickel resources.

▲Chairman Chen Xuehua was received by Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the signing ceremony

"Our cooperation perfectly combines the advantages of PT Vale's resources, Ford Motor's downstream customers, and Huayou Cobalt's advanced HPAL technology. Through cooperation, we will achieve low-carbon, green, and sustainable resource development, deeply implement the ESG concept, build an ESG system, win growth opportunities for the three parties, promote the development of the new energy industry, and contribute to the economic and social development of Indonesia." Chairman Chen Xuehua said that spring is the season for sowing seeds. In July 2022, Huayou Cobalt, Ford Motor, and PT Vale signed a memorandum of cooperation and made a joint announcement. Based on the cooperation framework agreement reached earlier with PT Vale, it is planned to introduce Ford Motor as an important partner, which will play a significant role in promoting the Pomalaa Project. Today, we officially bring in Ford Motor as our partner. We look forward to the fruitful results through our cooperation. As a saying goes, faith will move mountains. We sincerely hope that the three parties can work together to promote the project as soon as possible through mutual trust and sincere cooperation after signing this agreement. I also hope that from this day on, we can seek the common interests of the three parties in a wider scope and in broader areas, deepen our strategic mutual trust, and work together to build a win-win future in a larger scope and wider field.

This cooperation will provide critical raw materials for the EV transformation of the automotive industry, promote the development of the electric vehicle manufacturing industry in Indonesia, and provide strong support for Ford Motor to achieve its production plan of 2 million electric vehicles by the end of 2026 and further expand its production scale thereafter.