Asean battery push moves from talk to industrial scale
KUALA LUMPUR: Asean needs to move beyond discussions on battery technology and focus on scaling manufacturing, standards, investment and commercialisation if the region is to build a competitive battery industry.
The 4th Asean Battery Technology Conference (ABTC 2026) in Malaysia has shifted the discussion from mere talks to industrial implementation. Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Chang Lih Kang emphasized that the region's strength lies in its ability to collaborate in research, manufacturing, standards development, investment, and market integration.
This shift is crucial as battery demand grows with electric mobility and energy storage. At the conference, a Malaysia-Indonesia NMC-graphene lithium-ion pouch cell was launched, marking the first step in a memorandum of understanding signed in 2025. This project combines Indonesia's expertise in NMC active materials with Malaysia's knowledge in battery formulation, graphene technology, and cell development.
NanoMalaysia Bhd's CEO, Prof (Adj) Dr Rezal Khairi Ahmad, highlighted the need to scale and commercialize these technologies already in development. Several agreements were announced covering battery energy storage systems, advanced materials, recycling, manufacturing, and digital technologies, including partnerships with companies like GigaFactory Malaysia, Milan Utama, and Go Rental Singapore.
ABTC 2026, focused on manufacturing scale-up, battery safety, certification, circularity, investment, and market deployment, aims to create a more resilient and competitive battery ecosystem by connecting each country's unique strengths in policy, research, manufacturing, safety, and deployment.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
