Government Prepares Road Test for E20 Bioethanol Petrol

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is preparing a road test plan for petrol fuel blended with 20% bioethanol, known as E20. This step is necessary before the government enforces the mandatory 20% bioethanol policy in 2028.

Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at the Ministry of ESDM, Eniya Listiani Dewi, revealed that her office has communicated with the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) to commence the testing. The target is for engine testing to be carried out soon to assess the readiness of the national automotive industry infrastructure.

“I am asking the association to let us jointly conduct a direct E20 road test. I am asking the Gaikindo team. You promised, let’s do the E20 road test as soon as possible,” she stated when met at the Ministry of ESDM office in Jakarta on Wednesday (17/6/2026).

Before entering the E20 stage targeted for 2028, the government is currently focusing on implementing the mandatory 5% bioethanol (E5) policy, which is targeted to begin this year. Eniya mentioned that the E5 mandate must be enforced before December this year to pursue the target of increasing the blend to 10% (E10) by early 2027.

“Our core target is that before December, the 5% mandate must be in place because in January we are chasing the 10% target. Then in January 2028, the 20% target,” Eniya explained.

To date, the E5 implementation process is only awaiting the issuance of a Ministerial Decree regarding the allocation volume of the bio-based petrol. The government has also completed several supporting regulations, including an excise exemption through a Minister of Finance Regulation and the simplification of fuel blending business permits.

“For E5, we are just waiting for the allocation Ministerial Decree. The exempting Finance Minister Regulation has also been issued. Then one more ministerial regulation on NSPK, so that later permits only require an IUN. The KBLI is new,” she added.

The ministry is also overseeing infrastructure readiness at PT Pertamina (Persero), particularly regarding the cleaning reactor process to ensure smooth E5 distribution. On the technical side, Lemigas is still testing ethanol blending with various petrol octane numbers to find the most suitable specification for the market.

“The E5 decision will be up to the Minister. I am currently waiting for Pertamina; there are tests at Pertamina that have reportedly been handed over to Lemigas. The ethanol specification will certainly be discussed before the mandate is enforced,” she said.

Eniya believes that modern vehicle engine technology is actually capable of consuming petrol with ethanol blends of up to 30%. However, the government will still conduct measured trials so that the energy transition in the transportation sector provides optimal efficiency benefits for the public.

“I am confident that current car products can handle up to 30%. It is in journals. But I am sure 30% is not a problem; the question is which year we can do E10, which year for E20, and which year to reach E30. That is why I asked the association yesterday to let us quickly conduct a road test,” she concluded.