Lampung Bioethanol Project Partners with Toyota, Government Targets E10 by 2028
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. Construction of the 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. Currently, there is coordination between PNRE and the Japanese Group, in this case Toyota Tsusho will be appointed as the partner, and supported by other technology partners from Japan such as RaBIT (a research consortium of several Japanese automotive and energy companies),” explained 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 (20/04).
Deputy Minister Todotua explained that the project will be built first in the Lampung region. Lampung was chosen because it is one of the provinces with a strong supply of feedstock, such as sugarcane, cassava, sorghum, and others.
In particular, the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM has been escorting since the end of 2025 to early 2026 through a series of concrete steps, including cross-ministry/institution and SOE coordination, facilitation of meetings with Japanese technology partners, to direct accompaniment in field visits and project site identification.
The bioethanol development project being explored with Toyota, PNRE, and Danantara Investment Management is designed in two phases. The initial phase (pilot project) is targeted at a capacity of 60 kilolitres per year in the third quarter of 2027, followed by the commercial phase of 60,000 kilolitres per year in the fourth quarter of 2028.
This development also includes gradual 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.
On the policy side, the government has strengthened its commitment through the mandatory biofuel blending roadmap, namely E5 in 2026-2027, increasing to E10 in 2028-2030, towards E20 in the long term.
“We are promoting this project to prepare for the commitment of the mandatory roadmap to E10, so that our country is also ready,” said Deputy Minister Todotua.