The laboratory was inaugurated on August 28, 2024, by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, General TNI (HOR) (Ret.) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, M.P.A., ITB Rector Prof. Reini Wirahadikusumah, Ph.D., and GEM CEO Prof. Xu Kaihua. This facility is equipped with tools for physical and chemical characterization and physical analysis, including X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Laser Ablation (LA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer (EPMA), Ion Chromatography (IC), Gas Chromatography (GC), Particle Size Analysis (PSA), Zeta Potential Analyzer, and Battery Tester, as well as process and material testing tools, such as glass reactors, autoclaves of varying sizes, precipitation tanks up to 1 m3, tube furnaces, muffle furnaces, mixer-settlers, battery RnD lines, and Servopulser Servo Dynamic Systems, etc. In addition, the laboratory also has a centralized gas supply system, centralized distilled water system, centralized exhaust gas scrubber, and centralized wastewater storage. It also includes three meeting rooms, a large co-working space for students, and two modern classrooms.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ITB, CSU, and GEM have committed to joint efforts in education and research, aiming to produce world-class research outputs and develop highly skilled talents to become leaders in their fields and/or distinguished researcher. A Joint Organization and Joint Academic Committee have been established, led by three Co-Directors, namely Prof. Mohammad Zaki Mubarok (ITB), Prof. Chai Liyuan (CSU), and Prof. Xu Kaihua (GEM). The Academic Committee comprises 5 professors and 2 scientists from ITB, representing Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Physics, and Engineering Physics, along with several researchers from CSU and GEM.

The collaborative programs planned under the GEM-ITB-CSU tripartite partnership include joint research, joint supervision for master’s and doctoral students, joint publications, joint patents, and partnerships with industries in Indonesia and China, double degree programs for master’s and doctoral students, sandwich programs, student exchanges, and lecturer mobility. Since the start of Semester 1 in 2024-2025, ITB has launched a Multidisciplinary Master's and Doctoral Program in Battery Materials, utilizing the lab's facilities at Jatinangor Campus. A total of 10 master’s students and two doctoral candidates from ITB have been selected for the ITB-GEM scholarship to join this program, which will continue for the next five years.

Several master's students from CSU are also conducting their thesis research at the Joint Research Lab, co-supervised by lecturers from both CSU and ITB. These activities are expected to yield innovative research, joint publications, and enhance ITB's impact on related fields.

Over the next five years, ITB's planned leading research programs through GEM-ITB-CSU tripartite partnership include the synthesis of nickel-based and iron-based lithium-ion battery cathode and anode materials for improved cell performance, modification of cathode, anode, and electrolyte chemistry for electric vehicle batteries, development of green technologies for metal processing, extraction, and purification, testing of advanced metal alloys, battery recycling processes, and metal residue recovery processes, such as tailings from HPAL plants, bauxite refining residues into alumina, and tin ore processing by-products.

Reporter: M. Naufal Hafizh
Translator: Hanifa Juliana (Urban and Regional Planning, 2020)
Editor: Anggi Nurdiani (Management, 2024)