Jakarta. Indonesia would need to build 320 ethanol production plants to support a proposed nationwide program to blend gasoline with 50% ethanol, known as E50, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto said Monday.

The proposed E50 program would represent a major expansion of Indonesia's biofuel ambitions, complementing its efforts to increase the use of palm oil-based biodiesel as a substitute for conventional diesel fuel.

Earlier this year, the government launched the B50 program, which mandates a blend of 50% palm oil-derived biodiesel and 50% petroleum diesel.

"To meet the requirements of E50, we need to establish 320 ethanol plants, each with a production capacity of 60,000 kiloliters," Brian said at the Danantara Technology & Innovation Investment Forum (DTIIF) in Jakarta.

The proposed facilities would have a combined production capacity of 19.2 million kiloliters of ethanol, assuming the stated capacity refers to annual output.

Brian said developing a domestic ethanol industry would create opportunities to redirect spending on imported energy toward investment in Indonesian manufacturing and agricultural processing.

Indonesia currently spends an estimated $30 billion to $50 billion on energy imports, he said.

He argued that expanding ethanol production and increasing the use of biodiesel could strengthen energy security while accelerating industrial development.

The minister emphasized that the initiative would require cooperation among the government, universities and private businesses.

Higher education institutions could contribute through research, technological development and workforce training to meet the industry's growing demand for specialized skills, he said.

Indonesia Faces Major Ethanol Production Gap
Indonesia has begun introducing ethanol-blended gasoline on a limited scale, with plans to expand the ethanol content to 10% under the E10 program next year.

State-owned energy company Pertamina has marketed an ethanol-blended gasoline product, Pertamax Green 95, since June 2023.

Domestic ethanol production currently relies primarily on sugarcane and cassava, although the government is exploring alternative feedstocks that are more affordable and readily available.

Indonesia currently has five major bioethanol production facilities located across East Java, Lampung, Central Java and Yogyakarta, with combined effective production capacity of approximately 70,500 kiloliters per year.

That capacity remains well below the estimated 500,000 kiloliters of ethanol required for the planned E10 program in 2027.

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