Electric car batteries linked to deforestation in Indonesia's nickel lands
Batteries used by Volkswagen, Ford and Tesla may contain nickel mined in woodlands in Indonesia where tree loss has affected Indigenous lands, according to an analysis published on 16 October. The Guardian
The analysis draws on corporate disclosures and trade flows from the last two years. It links mines in automotive battery supply chains to loss of trees in Sulawesi, which houses the world's largest nickel deposits.
Satellite analysis found that two mines, Cahaya and Hengjaya, led to widespread deforestation of primary rainforest on lands inhabited by the Indigenous Tolaki people. The Cahaya concession alone covers 21,000 hectares.
Ore from the two concessions is sent to a nickel smelter in the Morowali industrial complex on Indonesia's eastern coast, operated by the local subsidiary of China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. From Morowali, $606 million worth of mixed hydroxide precipitate, an intermediate nickel product, was shipped to ports in China in 2024, followed by further shipments worth $470 million in 2025.
The material was then moved overland to Huayou cathode manufacturing sites in Quzhou near Shanghai and Yulin near the border with Vietnam. Huayou, a cathode manufacturer, confirmed group-level supplies to CATL in response to a 2024 regulatory inquiry by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Chengdu B&M, a downstream subsidiary of Huayou, confirmed the supply of large quantities to CATL, the world's largest battery maker.
Huayou's corporate reports list U.S. and European carmakers as end-users. The investigation traced shipments from mines and refineries in Sulawesi to China, and then from Huayou cathode and CATL battery factories to carmaker assembly lines in the United States and Europe. It cites Volza trade platform data showing that Volkswagen's facility in Braunschweig received 24 tonnes of cell modules worth about $390,000 in October 2024.
Corporate files and trade data point to a separate supply route from Huayou to LG via Poland. LG is a South Korean group that supplies battery products to leading carmakers. The investigation was published in partnership with Voxeurop and other European media partners.
