BPDP says B50 trial results meet quality standards

Jakarta - The Agency for the Management of Palm Oil Fund (BPDP) states that tests of biodiesel with a 50 percent palm oil blend (B50) show its quality meets the water content standard. BPDP’s Head of the Division for Distribution of Biodiesel Funding, Zuhdi Eka Nurrakhman, in Jakarta, on Thursday, said the government aims for nationwide simultaneous B50 implementation on 1 July 2026 after trials have been completed on several transport modes since late 2025. Progress: in automotive sector, road testing of heavy-duty vehicles (40,000 kilometres) has been completed with stable results; for light vehicles, it is expected to be completed by May 2026; while other sectors, are testing sea transport storage stability planned for May 2026 and rail testing completed by October 2026. “From the test results, 99.88 per cent of samples meet the water content standard, maximum 320 ppm,” he said. “Even in 2023 B35 was implemented with distribution of 13.14 million kilolitres (KL) in 2024, while B40 distribution in 2025 reached 14.7 million KL.” Regarding B50 implementation, he said there are several challenges such as production capacity being limited, infrastructure needing upgrades, especially port capacity, transport, and storage tanks. Then there is price disparity between biofuel (BBN) and fossil fuels (BBM) under normal conditions, which results in biodiesel incentives being very large.