The Dirty, Deadly Secret Behind Electric Cars

Summary

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is rapidly transforming into a global nickel hub, crucial for electric vehicle batteries, but at a significant human and environmental cost. The nickel industry's growth, driven by Chinese investment, has led to severe pollution, health issues, and unsafe working conditions, with accidents and fatalities common. Despite the economic boom, local communities feel neglected by the government, which continues to promote the industry, while the world's reliance on nickel for cleaner transportation has complex and far-reaching impacts.

Takeaways

• 🌳 The island of Sulawesi in Indonesia was once covered in forests but is now being transformed into a major nickel production hub for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
• 🚗 The demand for nickel is driven by its crucial role in the production of high-capacity EV batteries, with Sulawesi supplying the world's largest battery makers.
• 😷 The nickel industry's growth comes at a significant human cost, with workers facing hazardous conditions and health risks, including air pollution and respiratory diseases.
• 🔥 There have been fatal accidents in the industry, such as an explosion at a nickel plant resulting in 13 deaths and numerous injuries.
• 🏭 The rapid expansion of nickel facilities, especially by Chinese companies, has been likened to a gold rush, with cheap labor and energy being key attractions.
• 📈 Indonesia's Morowali region has seen an economic boom due to the nickel industry, with its economy growing by nearly 600% between 2015 and 2022.
• 😷 Health issues have become more prevalent due to pollution, with increased patient visits for diseases caused by the dirty facilities that rely on coal for power.
• 🏠 The local community faces a dilemma, as the nickel industry provides much-needed jobs but also brings environmental and health hazards.
• 🔧 Unsafe working conditions are rampant, with common accidents including workers getting caught in heavy equipment and falling from heights.
• 💔 The human cost of the industry is highlighted by personal stories of workers who have died or been severely injured, affecting their families deeply.
• 🌐 Despite the negative impacts, the Indonesian government continues to promote the nickel industry as a success story and a key economic driver.

Q & A

What is the current transformation of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi?

The island of Sulawesi in Indonesia is being transformed into a global hub for nickel production, which is crucial for making electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Why is nickel important for electric vehicles?

Nickel is important for electric vehicles because adding it to battery cells increases their energy density, allowing the vehicles to go a longer distance on a single charge.

What are the environmental and health costs associated with the nickel industry in Sulawesi?

The environmental and health costs include air pollution, dust, smoke, and mud. There has been an increase in patient visits for diseases caused by pollution, and children's health is affected by these conditions.

How has the nickel industry attracted workers from across Indonesia?

The nickel industry in Sulawesi continues to attract tens of thousands of workers due to the job opportunities it provides, despite the potential health risks associated with the jobs.

What was the cause of the explosion at a nickel plant in Indonesia, and what were the consequences?

The exact cause of the explosion at the nickel plant in Indonesia is under investigation by the Ministry of Manpower. The explosion resulted in 13 deaths and dozens of injuries.

What role do Chinese companies play in the Indonesian nickel industry?

Chinese companies, recognizing the opportunity in Indonesia's cheap labor and energy, have been building nickel facilities across the country, including the largest one controlled by Tsingshan, known as IMIP.

What is the economic impact of the nickel industry on Morowali?

The nickel industry has significantly boosted Morowali's economy, with a growth of nearly 600% between 2015 and 2022.

What are the working conditions like in the Indonesian nickel industry?

The working conditions are unsafe, with common work accidents including employees getting caught in heavy equipment, falling from heights, and even getting severed hands. There is also a lack of safety gear.

What was the outcome of the fire at a stainless steel smelter in IMIP on Christmas Eve 2023?

The fire at the stainless steel smelter in IMIP on Christmas Eve 2023 resulted in the death of 21 men and left many more injured.

What are the community's feelings towards the government's support of the nickel industry?

The community feels neglected by the government, believing that they make false promises and do not genuinely care about the people's well-being and the environmental impact of the nickel industry.

What is the forecast for Indonesia's role in the global nickel supply by the end of this decade?

Forecasts suggest that Indonesia could account for about two-thirds of the global nickel supply by the end of this decade, becoming the dominant producer.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 Environmental and Health Costs of Nickel Mining for EVs

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is undergoing a transformation from lush forest to a major hub for nickel production, essential for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This shift is causing significant environmental and health issues for the local community, including dust, smoke, and mud, with no recourse for complaints. The nickel industry's rapid growth has led to numerous worker fatalities and injuries, with 13 deaths and many more injured in a recent plant explosion. Despite these tragedies, the industry continues to attract workers due to the lack of alternative employment opportunities. The production of nickel, which is crucial for high-energy-density EV batteries, is exacerbating pollution and health problems, with an increase in respiratory infections and even tuberculosis among children. The narrative highlights the irony of producing a 'green' technology with methods that contribute to environmental degradation and health risks.

05:02

🚧 Unsafe Working Conditions and Labor Exploitation in Nickel Industry

Workers in the Indonesian nickel industry face common injuries due to inadequate safety gear and protocols. Fear of job loss leads to anonymity when reporting frequent accidents, which include being caught in heavy machinery, falling from heights, and severe incidents like severed hands. The narrative recounts a tragic incident at Gunbuster Nickel Industry where two workers died in a crane fire, highlighting the lack of safety and the dire consequences for workers and their families. Despite protests and investigations revealing unsafe conditions and a disregard for worker welfare, the industry persists, with workers feeling compelled to continue due to limited job opportunities. The government's focus on 'downstreaming' and promoting the industry, along with the incoming President's support, suggests that the current situation is unlikely to change, leaving workers and communities with few options and a bleak outlook.

10:06

🌐 Global Impact of Indonesia's Nickel Dominance and Policy

Indonesia's aggressive promotion of its nickel industry has led to a significant expansion and a drop in global nickel prices, causing a crisis for other nickel-producing countries. The government's commitment to 'downstreaming'—encouraging value-added activities within the country—has been a success story economically, despite the environmental and human costs. The narrative questions the definitions of 'dirty' and 'clean' mining and challenges the notion of 'premium nickel'. The impact of global demand for EVs is felt in the real lives of Indonesian workers and communities, with the country projected to dominate the global nickel supply by the end of the decade. The disconnect between the local population and the benefits of the EV industry is evident, as the people of Sulawesi have yet to see an EV, and many are employed in the very industry that powers it, despite the risks and hardships they endure.

Keywords

💡Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element with the symbol Ni and is a silvery-white lustrous metal. It is crucial for making electric vehicle (EV) batteries due to its ability to increase the energy density of these batteries. In the video, Indonesia's Sulawesi island is being transformed into a global hub for nickel production, which is a major cost to the environment and the local community.

💡Electric Vehicle (EV)

An electric vehicle, or EV, is a vehicle that uses electric motors and batteries for propulsion. They are becoming increasingly popular due to their lower emissions compared to traditional combustion engine vehicles. The video discusses the demand for nickel in EV batteries, which is driving the expansion of the nickel industry in Indonesia.

💡Environmental Impact

The environmental impact refers to the effects a human activity has on the biophysical environment. In the context of the video, the nickel industry in Sulawesi is causing deforestation, air pollution, and other forms of environmental degradation, which are directly linked to the production of EV batteries.

💡Health Risks

Health risks are potential injuries or illnesses that can result from exposure to certain conditions or substances. The script mentions that the pollution from the nickel industry is causing respiratory infections and other diseases among the local population, highlighting the human cost of nickel production.

💡Indonesian Nickel Industry

The Indonesian nickel industry is rapidly growing and becoming a global supplier of nickel, essential for EV batteries. The video describes the industry's expansion, the economic benefits it brings to regions like Morowali, and the associated environmental and health concerns.

💡Tsingshan

Tsingshan is the top seller of nickel and controls the largest nickel facility in Indonesia, known as IMIP. The company's presence and operations in Morowali are central to the video's narrative about the nickel industry's impact on the local economy and environment.

💡Morowali

Morowali is a regency in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, where the nickel industry has significantly contributed to the local economy. The video describes how the area has transformed from jungle and rice paddies to a large industrial facility, reflecting the changes brought by the nickel industry.

💡Air Pollution

Air pollution refers to the presence of harmful substances in the air. The video script mentions that cheap power in Indonesia often comes from coal, which is a significant source of air pollution. This pollution is affecting the health of the people in Sulawesi, especially those living near the nickel facilities.

💡Unsafe Working Conditions

Unsafe working conditions are work environments that pose a risk of injury or illness to workers. The video discusses several incidents, including explosions and fires at nickel plants, which have resulted in fatalities and injuries due to poor safety measures and lack of protective gear.

💡Economic Boom

An economic boom is a period of rapid economic growth. The video mentions that Morowali's economy has grown by nearly 600% between 2015 and 2022, largely due to the nickel industry. However, this growth comes with significant environmental and social costs.

💡Downstreaming

Downstreaming in the context of the video refers to the government's policy of encouraging companies to perform value-added activities within Indonesia, such as processing raw materials like nickel into finished products. This policy has led to the expansion of the nickel industry but also to the issues discussed in the video.

Highlights

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is transforming from a forested area into a global hub for nickel production, crucial for electric vehicle batteries.

The nickel industry in Sulawesi feeds the world’s largest battery makers, powering major electric vehicle sellers.

The community in Sulawesi endures dust, smoke, and mud as a result of the nickel industry with no place to complain.

Indonesia's nickel industry is booming, attracting thousands of workers despite the health risks.

13 people died and dozens were injured in an explosion at an Indonesian nickel plant, prompting a government investigation.

High nickel content in batteries increases their energy density, making them ideal for electric vehicles.

Indonesia has vast nickel reserves and technological advances have created a 'gold rush' for the metal.

Chinese companies have capitalized on Indonesia's cheap labor and energy to build nickel facilities.

Tsingshan's IMIP is the largest nickel facility in Indonesia, occupying a land area ten times larger than Central Park.

Morowali’s economy has grown by nearly 600% between 2015 and 2022 due to the nickel industry.

Air pollution from coal-powered facilities has increased health issues in the region.

Workers face unsafe conditions, with frequent accidents and a lack of safety gear.

A fire at a stainless steel smelter in IMIP resulted in 21 deaths and many injuries.

Workers and community members feel neglected by the government and companies, with no response to their concerns.

The Indonesian government supports the nickel industry despite criticisms, aiming for value-added activities onshore.

Indonesia's nickel downstreaming program has been a success, crashing the global nickel market.

Indonesia could account for two-thirds of global nickel supply by the end of the decade, according to BloombergNEF forecasts.

The impact of the nickel industry on local communities and the environment raises ethical questions about electric vehicle production.

Transcripts

This island was once covered in forest.

Now, it’s being transformed into a global hub for nickel,

a metal crucial for making electric vehicle batteries.

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi feeds the world’s largest battery makers

who power virtually every major seller of EVs.

And that’s coming at a major cost.

Dust,

smoke,

mud.

There's no place to complain here.

The community just has to bear it.

Indonesia's nickel industry shows no signs of slowing down.

It continues to attract tens of thousands of workers from across the country,

even if the jobs could kill them.

13 people have died

and dozens more are injured

after an explosion

at a nickel plant in Indonesia.

The Ministry of Manpower has sent

a special team to investigate the cause

of the explosion.

People in Sulawesi say

they are risking their lives

and health to make a living.

So what is the real cost of your electric vehicle?

If you want to make electric cars that can go a long way on a single charge,

batteries with a high nickel content are a very good way to do it.

Adding nickel to battery cells increases their energy density.

Indonesia has these enormous nickel reserves,

that’s not new.

What has changed in the last ten or so years

is a number of advances in the technology for processing nickel.

And that created, really, a gold rush.

Chinese companies saw an opportunity in Indonesia,

which also has cheap labor and energy.

So they started building nickel facilities across the country.

The largest one is controlled by the top seller of nickel, Tsingshan.

It’s called IMIP and sprawls across the seaside in Morowali.

This is a place that occupies a land area

that is about ten times larger

than Central Park in New York.

It looks like this incredibly large industrial facility

was just dropped down the middle of

what was really jungle and rice paddies

even 15 or 20 years ago.

As a result,

Morowali’s economy has been booming.

It’s grown by nearly 600%

between 2015 and 2022.

It’s excellent because it provides job opportunities for unemployed youth.

Now, there are big drawbacks.

There is air pollution.

Cheap power in Indonesia comes from coal.

These are very dirty facilities.

In the last five years,

there has been an increase in patient visits with diseases caused by pollution.

In our work area,

apart from acute respiratory infections,

we have found cases of tuberculosis among children,

which we had never found before.

The children's health is affected. They start coughing quickly.

When we wipe the windows,

we notice thick layers of dust.

We have to clean the dust off the desks every morning before class starts.

When we are talking about a metal

that is being used for electric vehicles,

which are supposed to help us deal with

climate change to make transportation greener,

producing one of the key inputs

with coal is problematic.

Around the island,

trash is piling up

and signs of pollution are everywhere.

On top of the environmental damage

and concerns around health,

there’s the issue over unsafe working conditions.

On Christmas Eve of 2023,

a fire broke out at a smelter

for stainless steel located in IMIP.

The blaze killed 21 men

and injured many more.

Workers we spoke to said

injuries on the job are common

because of the lack of safety gear.

They asked for anonymity

for fear of losing their jobs.

The most common work accidents I have heard of are employees

getting caught in heavy equipment,

falling from heights,

and some even getting severed hands.

Many accidents happen,

almost every day.

There have been similar incidents

in other facilities.

About a four hours’ drive up the coast from IMIP

is a smelting facility called

Gunbuster Nickel Industry.

This plant, in North Morowali,

was set up by Chinese metals company Jiangsu Delong.

In December 2022,

two Gunbuster workers were trapped

in the cab of a crane when

coal dust caught fire beneath them.

They burned to death.

One of the workers was

20-year-old I Made Defri Hari Jonathan.

Defri was my younger brother.

We knew the risk of working in a mine

is higher than working in the village here.

Our family relatives said

he was very lucky to get assigned to the hoist crane

because the location was nice with air-conditioning

and not in the furnace.

The company covered the costs at the hospital,

for autopsy,

and for repatriating the body.

The company also gave about 13 million rupiah ($824)

including Defri's salary.

[I’m] satisfied,

because they were willing to take responsibility

and did not wash their hands of the incident.

The parents and sister actually told me

they hadn't spent it because they felt,

and this is what the father said,

and this really stuck with me,

“The money is like Jonathan's body, how could I spend it?”

When he decided to work there,

he hoped to be able to support our parents

and the one thing that he kept saying was

that he wanted to build a house for our parents.

That was all.

After the accident that killed Jonathan,

workers at Gunbuster staged protests.

They turned violent,

claiming two more lives.

This is a video of a clash at Gunbuster

taken by one of the workers.

The unrest led Indonesia’s human rights regulator

to launch an investigation.

The report found

“unsafe working conditions,

lack of protection for workers’ health and welfare,

and disregard for corporate responsibilities.”

I am really worried about work accidents

because I am afraid they could have a big impact

on my family and myself

if I become permanently disabled or die.

A friend had an accident

where his eye was hit by sparks from metal cuttings.

It caused him to be permanently disabled.

I still work there despite being disabled like this.

It is difficult to find another job.

Whether I like it or not,

I must keep on working to provide for my family.

People who live in the surrounding community

don't feel they have any choice.

Because there aren’t a lot of jobs in rural Sulawesi

so this is what you do.

I am jobless because of the company.

We had a meeting with the Chinese company,

staged a demo,

but there has been no response so far.

Do you think the government cares about us?

No government cares about us.

They just make promises.

False promises.

Under Jokowi,

the president who is leaving office this year,

the government has been very enthusiastically in favor of

what they call downstreaming,

meaning bringing this processing onshore,

forcing companies to do

value-added activities in Indonesia.

The government, while they've acknowledged

some of these criticisms,

have mostly stuck to the policy.

And that includes

the incoming President, Prabowo Subianto.

I can say,

Indonesia’s nickel downstreaming program,

we are, over and over, a success.

That’s why the whole world says that

Indonesia crashed the nickel market.

We have seen this enormous expansion of the Indonesian nickel industry

over the last five, ten years.

There is now a huge amount of nickel in the world.

As a result, prices have come down

and this has created a crisis, actually,

in all of the nickel-producing countries

that are not Indonesia.

They say Indonesia, we make dirty mines.

I'm asking,

what is the definition of a dirty mine?

Of a clean mine?

Of premium nickel?

This has been a big economic success story

despite the environmental and human cost,

and certainly, decision makers in Jakarta don't intend to wind back

their promotion of this industry any time soon.

Forecasts from BloombergNEF

suggest that at the current rate things are going,

Indonesia could account for

something like two thirds of global nickel supply

by the end of this decade.

So it will be

the absolutely dominant producer.

It's a really vivid example of how

transactions that we think of as

being fairly mundane,

you know, buying a car or something

thousands of people do around the world every day,

really do have effects on

real people in real places

potentially very far away.

Regarding electric cars,

I have heard and read about them,

but they're not here.

I have never seen one.

Regarding [nickel’s] purpose or function,

I'm not entirely sure.

What I do know is that

since this is the only company here,

many of us work here.