Volkswagen will form joint ventures with Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Group to secure nickel and cobalt supplies for electric vehicles in China. The move is part of a 30 billion euro ($33 billion) push by the world’s second-largest carmaker to build a network of battery cell factories and secure more direct access to vital raw materials that are needed to supply them. Volkswagen, Huayou Cobalt, and Tsingshan have signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture in Indonesia, where more than 10 percent of the world’s laterite nickel ore reserves are located, to focus on nickel and cobalt raw material production. At the final expansion stage of the venture, it will be able to supply raw materials for 160 gigawatt-hours worth of electric vehicle batteries, Volkswagen China Group said in a statement. This corresponds to an annual output of around 120,000 tons of nickel and 15,000 tons of cobalt, …