NUSA Dua, Indonesia: Indonesia will begin road testing vehicles running on biodiesel containing 50% palm oil, known as B50, in early December, an energy ministry official said on Thursday.
Eniya Listiani Dewi, a senior official at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said the government is considering whether to implement the B50 mandate in selected sectors only. The move aims to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel by increasing the palm oil content in biodiesel from the current 40%.
Tests will be conducted on various types of machinery and transport, including train engines, ships, mining equipment, and power generators, Eniya said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Bali.
She added that the government will thoroughly assess all aspects of B50 implementation, such as technical performance, pricing, and the availability of palm oil-based fuel, and will make the results public.
Authorities are evaluating whether to apply the B50 standard initially to public service obligation (PSO) sectors, such as public transport and logistics, given the current limitations in biodiesel production capacity.
“We have discussed the possibility of increasing the blending rate to 50% for PSO sectors while keeping it lower for non-PSO sectors — this will be reviewed carefully,” Eniya said.
“The main challenge lies in the upstream sector. It’s not possible to implement B50 across all sectors at once,” she added.
