For years, Southeast Asia’s battery ambitions have been framed around potential. Indonesia has nickel. Malaysia has semiconductor and advanced materials expertise. Singapore has research depth and capital networks. Thailand and Vietnam have growing electric vehicle supply chains. The Philippines is trying to build a stronger EV ecosystem of its own.
At the 4th ASEAN Battery Technology Conference in Malaysia this week, the discussion shifted towards a more difficult question: can these separate strengths be turned into an integrated regional industry?
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Held from 19 to 21 August at the Mövenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA in Sepang, ABTC 2026 brings together policymakers, manufacturers, researchers, investors and industry groups from across the region. Hosted by NanoMalaysia Berhad, the conference is themed “Industrialising Battery Technologies: Strengthening ASEAN’s Battery Value Chain for Global Competitiveness”.
That wording matters. The region is no longer talking only about research collaboration or EV adoption targets. It is now confronting the industrial layer behind the energy transition: battery materials, cell development, safety testing, certification, manufacturing scale-up, recycling and market deployment.
Opening the conference, Malaysia’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, YB Datuk Chang Lih Kang, said ASEAN must move “from discussion to industrialisation”.
“ASEAN’s strength lies in our ability to complement one another through research, manufacturing, standards development, investment, and market integration. By working together, we can build a resilient regional value chain that benefits all our economies,” he said.
The challenge is that battery manufacturing is capital-intensive, technically demanding and highly sensitive to scale. China dominates much of the global battery supply chain, from processing to cell production. South Korea and Japan remain major players in advanced battery technologies, while the US and Europe are using industrial policy to localise parts of the chain. ASEAN’s opportunity is real, but it will depend on whether the region can coordinate rather than duplicate efforts across ten fragmented markets.
Malaysia positions itself as a battery industrialisation hub
Malaysia’s role as host reflects its own attempt to move battery research closer to commercial production.
Through initiatives such as the NanoMalaysia Energy Storage Technology Initiative and the Hydrogen–EV–Battery Centre, the country has been building capabilities in research, prototyping, testing, validation and pilot-scale manufacturing. More recent developments, including the establishment of GigaFactory Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Malaysia’s graphene-enhanced lithium-ion battery technology, point to an effort to convert laboratory work into industrial capability.
For Southeast Asia, this matters because the battery economy will not be built by raw materials alone. While Indonesia’s nickel reserves have attracted global attention, the broader value chain includes cathode materials, cell design, battery management systems, pack assembly, safety certification, second-life applications and recycling. Countries that can occupy several points along this chain will have a better chance of retaining value locally.
Prof. (Adj.) Dr Rezal Khairi Ahmad, CEO of NMB Group, said the region already has technical capabilities, but needs clearer pathways to scale.
“Malaysia has been building the infrastructure to move technologies from research into pilot and industrial application, but no single market can build the battery economy alone,” he said. “ABTC gives us the opportunity to connect capabilities across ASEAN, develop stronger cross-border pathways and collectively build an industry that can compete globally.”
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That is the central tension facing the region. ASEAN has the ingredients for a battery ecosystem, but ingredients do not automatically become an industry. Investors will look for predictable demand, common standards, skilled talent, bankable offtake agreements and manufacturing discipline. Governments, meanwhile, need to align EV policies, grid storage plans and industrial incentives without turning the sector into a subsidy race.
Malaysia-Indonesia pouch cell points to regional complementarity
One of the most concrete announcements on the opening day was the launch of a Malaysia-Indonesia NMC-graphene lithium-ion pouch cell, developed through collaboration between NanoMalaysia Berhad and Indonesia’s National Battery Research Institute.
NMC refers to lithium-ion battery chemistry using nickel, manganese and cobalt in the cathode. It is widely used in EVs and energy storage because it can offer relatively high energy density, though it also raises questions around cost, raw material sourcing and safety management. Graphene, a highly conductive carbon-based material, is being explored globally to improve battery performance, durability and charging characteristics.
The pouch cell builds on a memorandum of understanding signed by NMB and NBRI during ABTC 2025. That agreement covered technology transfer, joint research and innovation, testing and standardisation, education and industrial training.
In practical terms, the initiative combines Indonesia’s work in NMC active material production with Malaysia’s battery formulation, graphene technology and cell development capabilities. It is a small but useful example of how the region could divide labour: one country need not own the entire stack if cross-border collaboration allows materials, research, testing and eventual commercialisation to connect more efficiently.
For Indonesia, such collaborations could help move its battery strategy beyond mineral extraction. For Malaysia, they offer a route to plug its materials science, electronics and manufacturing experience into a regional supply chain. For ASEAN as a whole, these projects test whether regional cooperation can survive the commercial realities of intellectual property, ownership, standards and market access.
Partnerships signal interest, but execution will decide impact
ABTC 2026 also saw several partnership announcements across battery storage, manufacturing, AI-enabled operations and commercialisation.
GigaFactory Malaysia and Milan Utama signed a supply agreement for prototyping compact battery energy storage systems. Infien Energy and Ampace announced a strategic collaboration to explore opportunities in battery technologies. Green Tenaga and Go Rental Singapore entered a partnership focused on sustainable energy solutions, while Neoron Energy Network, Aryva Energy, Nano Commerce and GigaFactory Malaysia formed a collaboration to develop and commercialise battery and energy storage solutions.
GigaFactory Malaysia also announced separate initiatives with Axium Industries and Montavista Energy Technologies Corporation. The Axium partnership is aimed at using AI and digital tools to improve battery manufacturing, operational efficiency and supply chain management. The Montavista collaboration focuses on high-energy-density battery innovation, recycling, manufacturing capabilities, equipment facilitation and market development.
Such agreements are common at industry conferences, and not all will translate into factories, revenue or exportable products. Still, they indicate where the region’s battery conversation is heading. Energy storage is becoming as important as EVs, particularly as Southeast Asian countries add more solar and renewable power to their grids. Battery energy storage systems can help manage intermittency, stabilise grids and support decentralised energy models for factories, commercial buildings and remote communities.
Safety and certification will also become more important as batteries move from pilot projects into homes, vehicles, factories and grid infrastructure. The conference’s opening sessions included discussions on battery safety, manufacturing scale-up, circularity and emerging technologies, with speakers from Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago, SEDA, MARii, Pertamina, A*STAR and the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines.
From conference circuit to industrial policy
ABTC has evolved quickly since its first edition in Bali in 2023. Subsequent editions were held in Singapore and Phuket, with the 2026 event in Malaysia and the 2027 edition set to be hosted by the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines. Along the way, the platform has supported regional industry coordination, including an ASEAN battery associations memorandum in 2023 and the ASEAN Battery Safety Network in 2025.
The handover to the Philippines is symbolic, but the bigger test lies outside the conference hall. Southeast Asia’s battery ambitions will depend on whether countries can coordinate standards, train engineers and technicians, attract long-term capital, support recycling and create enough domestic demand to justify manufacturing investment.
The global battery race is moving fast. ASEAN does not need to replicate China’s scale to be relevant, but it does need to be clear about where it can compete. That may be in selected materials, specialised manufacturing, pack assembly, battery management systems, energy storage deployment, testing and certification, or recycling.
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The shift from dialogue to industrialisation is therefore less a slogan than a deadline. If Southeast Asia wants to capture more value from the EV and energy storage boom, the next phase will be measured not by memoranda signed, but by plants built, products certified and batteries deployed in real markets.
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