PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Nickel Smelter power station

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PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Nickel Smelter power station is an operating power station of at least 1190-megawatts (MW) in Kawasi, Obi, South Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as 宁波力勤印尼镍铁项目自备电厂.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Nickel Smelter power station	Kawasi, Obi, South Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia	-1.5614331, 127.4210337 (exact)

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Phase II Unit 1, Phase II Unit 2, Phase II Unit 3, Phase II Unit 4, Phase II Unit 5, Phase III Unit 1, Phase III Unit 2, Phase III Unit 3, Phase III Unit 4: -1.5614331, 127.4210337
• Phase I Unit 1, Phase I Unit 2, Phase I Unit 3: -1.53615, 127.416015

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year
Phase I Unit 1	Operating	coal: unknown	30	unknown	2020
Phase I Unit 2	Operating	coal: unknown	30	unknown	2021
Phase I Unit 3	Construction	coal: unknown	60	unknown	–
Phase II Unit 1	Operating	coal: unknown	150	unknown	2023
Phase II Unit 2	Operating	coal: unknown	150	unknown	2022
Phase II Unit 3	Operating	coal: unknown	150	unknown	2023
Phase II Unit 4	Operating	coal: unknown	150	unknown	2023
Phase II Unit 5	Operating	coal: unknown	150	unknown	2023
Phase III Unit 1	Operating	coal: unknown	380	unknown	2024
Phase III Unit 2	Construction	coal: unknown	380	unknown	–
Phase III Unit 3	Construction	coal: unknown	380	unknown	–
Phase III Unit 4	Construction	coal: unknown	380	unknown	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Phase I Unit 1	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase I Unit 2	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase I Unit 3	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase II Unit 1	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase II Unit 2	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase II Unit 3	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase II Unit 4	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase II Unit 5	PT Halmahera Persada Lygend [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase III Unit 1	PT Obi Nickel Cobalt [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase III Unit 2	PT Obi Nickel Cobalt [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase III Unit 3	PT Obi Nickel Cobalt [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]
Phase III Unit 4	PT Obi Nickel Cobalt [100%]	Harita Group [63.1%]; Ningbo Lygend [36.9%]

Project-level captive use details

• Captive industry use (heat or power): power
• Captive industry: Nickel

Background

PT Halmahera Persada Lygend, also known as PT HPAL or PT HPL, was a joint venture between Indonesia's Harita Group and Chinese mining company Ningbo Lygend. The company received an environmental permit to construct a nickel smelting facility on Obi Island in January 2019.

The power station complex consisted of three phases, a 2x30 MW + 1x60 MW Phase I, a 5x150 MW Phase II, and a 4x380 MW Phase III. As of December 2024, Phase III remained under construction.

Phase I

In April 2021, construction of a 60 MW unit began at the site.

By May 2021, the first two 30-MW coal-fired units for the smelter were commissioned.

The nickel smelter began operating in June 2021, and the total investment was estimated to have exceeded US$1 billion.

In January 2022, construction of the 60 MW Phase I Unit 3 was ongoing.

As of December 2024, it was unknown if Phase I Unit 3 had entered operation.

Phase II

As of March 2020, a 4 x 150 MW power station was proposed to provide electricity for the nickel smelting process. Construction had begun on the 4 x 150 MW units in Phase II.

In September 2022, Phase II Unit 2 was connected to the grid.

In January 2023, Phase II Unit 3 entered operation.

In September 2024, Phase II, now listed as 5x150 MW, was stated to be fully operational. The exact commercial operation dates of Phase II Units 1, 4 and 5 were not known. They were presumed to begin operating in 2023.

Phase III

On January 29, 2022, Energy China Tianjin Power Construction (中国能建天津电建 - Zhōngguó néng jiàn tiānjīn diàn jiàn) won the bid for the first section of a 4 × 380 MW project. The project was described as jointly invested by Ningbo Liqin Resources Technology (宁波力勤资源科技 - Níngbō lì qín zīyuán kējì) and Indonesia Khalida Group (印尼哈利达集团 - Yìnní hā lì dá jítuán).

As of November 2022, Phase III would reportedly be operated by PT Obi Nickel Cobalt.

In April 2023, reporting suggested that some preliminary had begun. Planet imagery showed that work on the ground was ongoing.

Lygend's 2022 annual report stated that "Obi projects" were expected to complete construction and begin operating by July 2024. The "remaining three nickel-cobalt compounds production lines under phase III" were slated to begin operating in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In October 2023, Planet imagery showed that development at the Phase III site was ongoing.

In January 2024, 企业责任资源中心 (Corporate Responsibility Resource Center) reached out to project developers to comment on the coal plant's announcement and progress after China's 2021 commitment to stop building coal plants overseas, but they did not respond.

In March 2024, the third phase high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) nickel processing project began production.

In April 2024, a Harita Group presentation stated that the Phase III power station was 32.5% complete, with a capacity of 3 x 380 MW. The status of a fourth unit was unknown.

In September 2024, Phase III Unit I entered operation. The Phase was listed as 4 x 380 MW.

In November 2024, an updated Harita Group presentation did not specifically mention the power station. However, construction progress on the overall project was reportedly 77% complete.

4.2 GW of potential coal capacity

In December 2021, the Lygend website detailed the following about the overall nickel project:

"(...) 中国恩菲与力勤资源双方进一步加强合作，先后签订了湿法二期、硫酸镍、RKEF火法冶炼、湿法三期等一系列工程技术服务和核心设备采购合同。OBI红土镍矿项目全部投产后，将形成6条高压酸浸生产线、20条RKEF生产线、50万吨电池级硫酸镍和7万吨硫酸钴精炼厂、300万吨不锈钢厂及配套4200MW燃煤电厂、420万吨酸厂、码头、宜居小镇的大型综合智能制造产业园，将实现1500万吨低品位镍矿、2600万吨高品位镍矿的年处理量，镍金属产量将超过40万吨/年。"

(Google Translate: (...) China ENFI and Liqin Resources have further strengthened their cooperation and signed a series of engineering and technical services and core equipment procurement contracts such as the second phase of wet process, nickel sulfate, RKEF pyrometallurgy, and the third phase of wet process. After the OBI laterite nickel ore project is fully put into operation, it will form 6 high-pressure acid leaching production lines, 20 RKEF production lines, 500,000 tons of battery-grade nickel sulfate and 70,000 tons of cobalt sulfate refinery, 3 million tons of stainless steel plant and supporting 4200MW coal-fired power plant, 4.2 million tons of acid plant, wharf, and a large-scale comprehensive intelligent manufacturing industrial park in a livable town, which will achieve an annual processing capacity of 15 million tons of low-grade nickel ore and 26 million tons of high-grade nickel ore, and the output of nickel metal will exceed 400,000 tons. tons/year.)

Financing

Phase 1 and 2: In April 2021, DBS announced that it is jointly leading a consortium of nine banks to provide US$625 million in financing for the PT Halmahera Persada Lygend nickel smelter. However it was unclear what percentage went to the power plant. The consortium included BNP Paribas, Bank Mandiri, Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Maybank, Overseas Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), OCBC NISP, and United Overseas Bank.

Investment cost of Unit 1 and Unit 2 of Phase 1 (jointly, 60MW) was USD 44 million, as per Lygend Resources Prospectus dated November 2022. Expected investment cost of Unit 3 was (Phase 1) USD 31 million. Investment cost of Phase 2 (4x 150MW units) was USD 329 million. The capital expenditure for these units were included in the total capital expenditure of the respective smelter projects. Financing details of additional Unit 5 that was added later were not known.

Phase 3: In September 2022, Lygend Resources signed a new strategic cooperation agreement with the Agricultural Bank of China (Ningbo branch). In November 2022, Lygend Resources held a syndicated loan meeting for the Obi Nickel Cobalt project with Ningbo Agricultural Bank of China and nine banks interested in participating in the project. In May 2023, the Company has successfully obtained a syndicated loan of US$780 million for Phase III (ONC) of the HPAL project. However, it was unclear what percentage went to the power plant. All syndicate members are Chinese financial institutions, including Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited Ningbo Branch, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., Ltd. Ningbo Branch, Industrial Bank Co., Ltd. Ningbo Branch and China Guangfa Bank Co., Ltd. Ningbo Branch.

Opposition

In March 2025, environmental advocacy group Market Forces launched a public campaign urging a dozen banks to suspend financial support for the expansion of the Harita Group’s nickel refinery and smelter, which were being powered by PT Halmahera Persada Lygend power station. Market Forces urged supporters to write to the banks, including BNP Paribas, DBS, and China Eximbank, to withhold any further financing if the company continues to build new fossil fuel power plants for Harita’s plan to expand smelter capacity.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.