Sphere, SpaceX Supplier, Buys 10% in Indonesian HPAL Nickel Project

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — South Korea’s Sphere Corp, a specialised materials supplier known for providing alloys to Elon Musk-led SpaceX, has agreed to acquire a 10 percent stake in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC) high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) project in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, in a deal valuing the venture at US$2.4 billion.

The stake will be purchased from Decent Resource, a Hong Kong-based investor, while Australia’s Nickel Industries retains a 44 percent ownership in the project. Sphere’s investment includes an offtake agreement under which it will take its proportional share of nickel output as cathode material and has rights to additional supply at market prices.

The ENC HPAL facility is designed to be the first in the world capable of producing three class-1 nickel products — mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), nickel sulphate and nickel cathode — positioning it as a strategic feedstock source for electric vehicle batteries and advanced aerospace alloys.

The announcement triggered a share price jump of up to 9 percent for Nickel Industries on the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index, marking it among the day’s top performers. The transaction is expected to complete early in the first quarter of 2026.

This strategic entry by Sphere comes amid rising global nickel prices, supported by Indonesia’s plans to cut mining output quotas to bolster commodity values. The offtake and ownership position also aligns Sphere with long-term supply trends in critical metals for electrification and aerospace sectors.