Indonesia’s Nuclear Ambition: Harnessing Uranium for a Green 2060
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest country with a population projected to exceed 284 million in 2025, faces a significant electricity demand, with forecasts indicating an annual growth rate of 5 - 6%. Despite making substantial progress in expanding electricity access, with high electrification ratios and energy diversification efforts, Indonesia remains heavily reliant on coal and petroleum as its primary energy sources. However, the country has begun to commit to a long-term energy transition strategy, aiming to adopt new and renewable energy sources to achieve its climate goals such as Net Zero Emissions (NZE) target by 2060. Still, renewable energy is considered suboptimal to meet Indonesia’s rising energy demands in the coming decades due to its intermittent nature, low power density, high land-use requirements, and potential long-term environmental impacts. In response, nuclear energy emerges as a viable solution due to its high energy density, low carbon emissions, and waste that can be reprocessed.
As one of the world’s largest archipelagic nations, with over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is endowed with vast natural and mineral resources. Beyond its well-known reserves of gold, tin, copper, and nickel, the country also holds significant uranium and thorium deposits, critical raw materials for nuclear fuel, scattered across various regions. With a clear policy direction, domestic innovation, international partnerships, institutional synergy, and support from key stakeholders, these resources can become strategic assets to help Indonesia meet its NZE 2060 commitments and position itself as an independent nuclear energy developer and a future nuclear fuel supplier.
The Urgency of Nuclear Energy in Indonesia
As population growth drives increasing electricity demand, Indonesia must significantly boost its energy capacity and diversify its energy mix. In this context, nuclear energy is positioned as a key component of the country’s long-term energy security strategy. Classified as a "new energy source," nuclear power has been integrated into Indonesia’s future energy development roadmap through the Electricity Supply Business Plan (Rencana Usaha Penyediaan Tenaga Listrik, RUPTL) 2025 - 2034. In the long run, nuclear power plants (NPPs) are considered a viable option for providing baseload power without greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, aligning with the government’s decarbonization goals.
The development and operation of NPPs also require robust nuclear fuel supply chains, radioactive waste management, stringent safety and security measures, and compliance with both national legislation and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines. The hope is that nuclear power can reduce Indonesia's dependence on natural gas and curb fossil fuel imports.
Unearthing Indonesia's Uranium and Thorium Wealth
Indonesia's abundant nuclear material resources present a major opportunity to strengthen national energy resilience, support industrialization, and promote sustainable economic growth. According to the National Research and Innovation Agency (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, BRIN), Indonesia possesses approximately 90,000 tons of uranium and 140,000 tons of thorium reserves. Meanwhile, data from the now-defunct National Atomic Energy Agency (Badan Tenaga Nuklir Nasional, BATAN) in 2020 revealed similar figures: 81,090 tons of uranium and 140,411 tons of thorium. These resources are distributed across several islands:
Sumatra has approximately 31,567 tons of uranium and 126,821 tons of thorium.
Kalimantan has 45,731 tons of uranium and 7,028 tons of thorium.
Sulawesi contains 3,793 tons of uranium and 6,562 tons of thorium.
Additionally, RUPTL 2025–2034 identified a uranium deposit of approximately 24,112 tons in Melawi Regency, West Kalimantan according to the Geological Atlas of Mineral and Energy Resources of West Kalimantan. These findings position Indonesia as a potential leading uranium producer in Southeast Asia and a contributor to global uranium reserves. However, the use of nuclear energy as a primary energy source still awaits a definitive government policy supported by a feasibility study for NPP development.
Prospects and Strategies for Nuclear Fuel Development
The availability of uranium and thorium presents a strategic opportunity to accelerate Indonesia's nuclear technology and energy development. This includes future projects spanning uranium mining, milling, enrichment, waste management, and nuclear fuel reprocessing. Leveraging these resources also enables Indonesia to diversify its energy mix and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, advancing national energy independence and sustainability.
However, the development of nuclear fuel infrastructure must align with IAEA requirements. In its publication "Milestones in the Development of National Infrastructure for the Uranium Production Cycle," the IAEA outlines five phases of development for introducing uranium exploration and eventually uranium mining and processing:
Phase 1: Development of a uranium exploration programme.
Phase 2: Exploration undertaken for the first time, or for the first time in many years, but with no significant commitment to proceed to mining and processing.
Phase 3: Initiation or reinvigoration of a uranium mining development with known exploitable uranium reserves.
Phase 4: Commissioning and operation, or increase of current capacity, of a uranium mine and processing facility.
Phase 5: Uranium mines and processing facilities at the end of life, or mine sites being made safe but kept in a state suitable for possible reopening in the future.
Indonesia also needs to complete infrastructure requirements before proceeding to the uranium project development stage marked by four key milestones:
Milestone 1: Ready to Commit to Uranium Exploration
The country has a national policy, initial legal framework, clear institutional roles, and has begun preparing human resources, funding, and environmental aspects before exploration commences.
Milestone 2: Ready to Construct a Mine and Processing Facility
After finding viable uranium reserves, the country completes feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, and comprehensive planning to begin building production infrastructure.
Milestone 3: Ready to Operate a Mine and Processing Facility
All operational permits have been obtained, trained personnel are available, safety and environmental management systems are functional, and the supply chain is ready to begin uranium production.
Milestone 4: Ready to Decommission and Remediate the Site
After the operational period ends, the country is ready to safely close the site, including transporting hazardous materials, stabilizing waste, and implementing post-operational environmental monitoring programs.
Strategic Challenges and National Readiness
Although the development of nuclear materials to support the future nuclear energy program is a long-term endeavour, the significant potential of Indonesia's natural resources in this field demands careful consideration and thorough preparation.
Robust National Regulatory Readiness: This requires solid legislation and regulatory compliance. The Government of Indonesia has taken important steps by issuing Government Regulation (Peraturan Pemerintah, PP) No. 52 of 2022 concerning the Safety and Security of Nuclear Mineral Mining, which regulates all stages of nuclear mineral mining. However, further regulations (e.g. uranium licensing) governing the initiation and expansion of nuclear material production programs still need to be proactively developed.
Inter-agency Synergy: Close and coordinated cooperation among relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, BRIN, the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir, BAPETEN), and other stakeholders is crucial. This synergy includes harmonizing roles and responsibilities, aligning policies, improving inter-agency communication, and strengthening institutional capacity to ensure the development of nuclear material production programs runs effectively, efficiently, and in accordance with national and international safety standards.
Technical and Workforce Readiness: The development of nuclear material mining and processing facilities requires adequate technical support and trained personnel in nuclear geology, nuclear chemistry, mining engineering, radiation safety, and radioactive waste management. The availability of high-standard education and training programs, both domestically and through international cooperation, is a crucial aspect in building a reliable and sustainable human resource base.
Investment and Financing: Nuclear material exploration, development, and production activities require significant long-term investment. Therefore, clear and attractive financing mechanisms are needed, from both the public and private sectors, and partnership schemes capable of attracting domestic and foreign investment, including bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to support the sustainability of projects from the exploration phase to post-operation.
Preparing the Future Nuclear Roadmap
Nuclear material exploration and the use of nuclear energy as a primary energy source in Indonesia are still in the planning stage and await a definitive government policy, which must be supported by feasibility studies for NPP construction as the initial stage of the national nuclear energy ecosystem.
BRIN, through the Nuclear Energy Research Organization (Organisasi Riset Tenaga Nuklir BRIN, ORTN-BRIN), states that abundant uranium and thorium reserves have the potential to support long-term energy needs sustainably. However, the mining and processing of these minerals will likely only be carried out after the first NPP operates, so that their utilization has a clear direction and complies with non-proliferation principles and supports national energy self-reliance safely and responsibly.
In the initial stages, Indonesia will likely import nuclear fuel from uranium producing countries such as Kazakhstan, Canada, or Russia, a strategy also applied by other developing countries like India. This approach demonstrates Indonesia's initial readiness and serves as a foundation for the future development of domestic fuel production. In line with this, the government needs to prepare additional regulations to govern the purification and processing of radioactive materials, recognizing that these activities require strict oversight and adherence to international safety standards.
Although the path towards full utilization of Indonesia's nuclear material reserves is still long and challenging, the prospects are promising. With mature planning, strong regulations, and cross-sector collaboration, Indonesia could build a clean, safe, and sustainable nuclear energy foundation for the global future.
