E50 Programme Expected to Require 320 Ethanol Plants

Jakarta (ANTARA) — Indonesia’s programme to blend petrol with 50 per cent ethanol, known as E50, could lead to the construction of 320 new ethanol plants domestically, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto said.

“To meet E50 demand, we need to build 320 ethanol plants, each with a capacity of 60,000 kilolitres,” Brian said at the Danantara Technology & Innovation Investment Forum (DTIIF) 2026 in Jakarta on Monday.

He said developing the ethanol industry was an opportunity to shift energy-import spending towards domestic industrial activity. Indonesia currently spends around US$30 billion to US$50 billion on energy imports, he said.

Brian said the E50 and B50 programmes could provide momentum to strengthen energy self-sufficiency while advancing national industrialisation.

He stressed that strengthening industry required collaboration among the government, universities and businesses. Universities, he said, could contribute through research, technology development and preparing a workforce suited to industry’s needs.

He added that universities were also open to taking on assignments from industry or Danantara to support the development of industrial sectors through research and the dissemination of knowledge.

“We should not be concerned about the regulations in place. This does not mean breaking the rules; we can deregulate, draw up new regulations and so on,” he said.

Brian said the necessary regulatory adjustments could support collaboration and make it easier for industry to use the results of university research.

He said alignment between research, industry and policy was vital to strengthening national industrialisation and helping Indonesia escape the middle-income trap.