Lampung Bioethanol Project Enters New Phase
The government, through the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM, continues to promote the formation of strategic agreements in the development of the Bioethanol Project in Lampung Province as part of efforts to accelerate the national energy transition.
The construction of this project, expected to start in the third quarter of 2026, involves Toyota, PT Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (PNRE), and Danantara Investment Management.
“This programme has actually been running for a year now, but we have been silent in its development,” stated Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Deputy Head of BKPM Todotua Pasaribu after leading a meeting with the CEO of Toyota Motor Asia in Jakarta on 20 April 2026.
Currently, he said, there is coordination between PNRE and the Japanese Group, where Toyota Tsusho will be appointed as the partner, supported by other technology partners from Japan such as RaBIT (a research consortium of several Japanese automotive and energy companies).
Lampung was chosen because it is one of the provinces with a very strong supply of feedstock, such as sugarcane, cassava, sorghum, and others.
Specifically, the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM has been providing guidance since the end of 2025 to early 2026 through a series of concrete steps.
These include cross-ministerial/institutional and SOE coordination, facilitating meetings with technology partners from Japan, to direct accompaniment in field visits and project site identification.
The initial stage (pilot project) is targeted at a capacity of 60 kilolitres per year in the third quarter of 2027, followed by the commercial stage of 60,000 kilolitres per year in the fourth quarter of 2028.
This development adopts a multi-feedstock approach, including utilising palm oil biomass waste, maize, and sorghum, supported by second-generation (2G) technology to increase supply flexibility while ensuring long-term sustainability.
This development also includes phased sorghum cultivation, starting from a pilot of 10 hectares in 2026 to commercial development reaching 6,000 hectares in 2027. The project will be located in Lampung with land support from PTPN.