IPB’s Faculty of Agriculture backs competency-based research into bioethanol development

Bogor (ANTARA) – IPB University’s Faculty of Agriculture (Faperta IPB) is supporting bioethanol development through research drawing on its expertise, particularly in agricultural feedstock production.

“The findings of research based on our areas of competence are expected to help achieve energy self-sufficiency, especially through bioethanol development,” Faperta IPB University Dean Prof. Suryo Wiyono said in a statement in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday.

As part of efforts to develop this new energy source, Faperta IPB University and PT Agrinas Palma Indonesia held a focus group discussion in early October 2026 on developing a bioethanol industry based on maize, sorghum and cassava.

The discussion covered production, processing and economic feasibility as part of efforts to support national energy self-sufficiency.

“The cooperation between IPB’s Faculty of Agriculture and Agrinas Palma Indonesia is intended to provide input on the production and processing of bioethanol from multiple feedstocks—sorghum, cassava and maize—as well as its economic analysis,” he said.

IPB University Vice-Rector for Education and Student Affairs Prof. Deni Noviana said energy policy development, including bioethanol, needed to be supported by scientific evidence and involve expertise from multiple disciplines.

“A multidisciplinary approach is important because bioethanol development is not only about producing feedstock, but also about processing, economics and sustainability,” he said.

In the context of bioethanol, the cascading use of biomass through a circular bioeconomy approach is another important area for development.