Indonesia’s Nickel Island Now a Chinese Company Town

Halmahera, a forested island in eastern Indonesia, is little known outside Southeast Asia. But this remote land between Sulawesi and New Guinea now holds a key role in the global shift to clean energy. The island sits on some of Indonesia’s largest nickel deposits—a metal essential for making electric vehicle batteries. Chinese companies have moved in quickly. They built massive processing plants, roads, and housing. Today, much of Halmahera’s industry is Chinese-owned. Local workers now live in company towns, and the economy depends almost entirely on nickel exports. This rapid change brings jobs and investment. But it also raises questions about foreign control over Indonesia’s natural resources. For now, Halmahera shows how one island can become central to the world’s energy future—and how one country can dominate that supply chain.