Biodiesel B50 Has Undergone Road Tests, Gaikindo Reveals Results

Jakarta — The General Secretary of the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo), Kukuh Kumara, said that road tests of vehicles powered by B50 fuel have covered more than 10,000 km. Significantly, the tests did not show adverse effects observed during the B35 trials.

‘Perhaps because the B0 base is relatively good and performing well so far, it is still ongoing. The next stage is to test in regions with relatively cold temperatures,’ Kukuh said at the CNBC Indonesia Energy Forum, quoted on Friday (6 March 2026).

Despite the already positive test results, Kukuh said there remains a strong possibility of reduced performance due to biodiesel blending. However, from an industry or manufacturing perspective such a decrease should be tolerable, as it represents only a drop of about 2.5% to 3%. If there are issues, he said the remaining test to be conducted domestically is that the swilter tends to clog easily.

Indonesia currently has the world’s highest biodiesel blend level. It has successfully implemented a mandatory 40% palm-oil biodiesel blend into diesel fuel, i.e., B40, since January 2025. The success of the B40 mandate has attracted Malaysia’s interest in understanding how Indonesia carries out the biodiesel programme. Nevertheless, Kukuh cautioned that increasing the biodiesel blend should not be rushed. A jump from B35 to a much higher level must be done gradually to identify technical issues first.

‘Especially for commercial vehicles that run on diesel. They operate out of town, sometimes in remote areas. It’s a pity if they encounter problems,’ he concluded.