KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): Citaglobal Bhd (formerly known as WZ Satu Bhd) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the proposed development of a battery cell manufacturing plant and battery energy storage system (BESS). 

In a statement on Monday (Jan 9), the company said the MOU with PT Industri Baterai Indonesia or Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) shall remain in effect over the next one year. 

IBC was established by four Indonesian state-owned enterprises (PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, Mining Industry of Indonesia, Perusahaan Listrik Negara and PT Pertamina), with the vision of maximising Indonesian natural resources through the development of battery electric vehicles and the battery industry ecosystem in Indonesia.

The execution of the MOU augurs well for both sides, which have strategic plans and focus to expand meaningfully into the renewable energy space.

At the moment, the global market for electric vehicles is growing continuously at a compound annualised growth rate of 21.7%. The battery is one of the main cost components of electric vehicles, making up some 35% of this cost at this moment, the statement read.

“Scaling up battery storage is critical for the development of renewable energy whether in Malaysia or Indonesia. The Energy Commission of Malaysia has made known its intention of adopting up to 500MW of battery storage technology,” said Citaglobal executive chairman and president as well as major shareholder Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria. 

“With Malaysia’s strategic location for high solar power potential, our government has been very proactive in choosing areas that are suited for solar power adoption, especially for BESS. 

"We are honoured and look forward to a productive and fruitful collaboration with IBC. A cross-country collaboration will allow both parties to leverage each other’s expertise, and quicken the process of increasing low-carbon power sources,” he added.

Last October, Citaglobal entered into a collaboration agreement with Genetec Technology Bhd for a broad-based multi-angle and exclusive collaboration and strategic cooperation arrangement in connection with the development of BESS to store and manage excess power during the generation of renewable energy, via a special purpose vehicle based on a 50:50 shareholding between the two parties.

At the time of writing on Monday, Citaglobal’s share price had inched up half a sen or 1.45% to 35 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM662.53 million.