Indonesia aims to implement palm oil-based B50 biodiesel by 2025, cut fuel imports by RM86b annually

Indonesia plans to implement mandatory blending of 50% palm oil-based biodiesel by early next year, which president-elect Prabowo Subianto said would reduce the nation’s fuel imports by US$20 billion (RM85.6 billion) per year, reported Reuters.

Prabowo takes office this month, succeeding incumbent Joko Widodo whose administration ordered the palm oil industry to prepare for the B50 biodiesel blend. The nation planned to raise its biodiesel blend from its present 35% to 40% by January next year in a bid to reduce its fuel imports and emissions from fossil fuels, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Indonesian biofuel producer association APROBI said that biodiesel producers will need time to test the B50 biodiesel blend and increase production capacity to meet demand, the association’s secretary-general said.

The recently launched Mercedes-Benz Actros and Arocs, as well as Mitsubishi Fuso TF Canter commercial truck models are already B30 biodiesel-compatible

“Some biodiesel producers may need to install new equipment to meet the new standard, and this would take six months. After that, the commercialisation tests which not only test the fuel on vehicles but also storage tests, which need six months,” Bandung Institute of Technology biofuel expert Tatang Hernas Soerawidjaja.

In Malaysia, the mandate for B30 biodiesel blending was part of the second phase of the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) that was launched in August last year, which has set a target date of 2030 for B30 biodiesel to be mandated “when POGO [palm oil vs low-sulphur gas oil] spreads are projected to be economically viable,” according to an excerpt of key initiatives for heavy vehicles under the NETR.

At fuel retailers in Malaysia, diesel fuel of the B7 blend is identified by its blue nozzle, while the B10 blend is by the black nozzle. As of last week, B10 and B20 blends of diesel in Peninsular Malaysia are priced at RM2.95 per litre, while the B7 blend is at RM3.15 per litre. Diesel fuel in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan is priced at RM2.15 per litre.

While the target date has been set towards the turn of the decade, makers of commercial vehicles Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi Fuso have future-proofed their products, with the 2024 Mercedes-Benz Actros and Arocs models and the 2024 Canter TF, respectively which are B30 biodiesel-compatible.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.