After B50 Palm Oil Diesel, Prabowo Now Aims to Accelerate Sugarcane-Based Petrol

President Prabowo Subianto has set a target for Indonesia to catch up with India and Brazil in the utilisation of ethanol as a petrol blend, following the country’s success in implementing a 50% palm oil-based biodiesel mandate (B50). Speaking at a national harvest event in Malang, East Java, Prabowo stated that Indonesia has the capability to move towards an E10 blend and even directly to E20, which contains a 20% bioethanol mixture. “We have succeeded in becoming the first country to produce B50. Now we produce diesel from palm oil, so from this July we no longer import diesel from abroad,” Prabowo said. He noted that India has already implemented E20, while Brazil uses pure ethanol fuel (E100). Bioethanol feedstock can be sourced from sugarcane molasses, sorghum, cassava, sweet palm, and maize. Pertamina New & Renewable Energy CEO John Anis confirmed the company’s readiness to support the government’s target. He revealed that Indonesia currently only has limited E5 distribution at 170 petrol stations in East Java and Jakarta. To meet national demand, John estimated that 20 to 30 new bioethanol plants would be needed within the next two years, a move he said would also improve farmer welfare by channelling funds domestically rather than towards imports. Pertamina stressed the need for mandatory regulations and guaranteed feedstock pricing to ensure the bioethanol ecosystem can operate effectively.