Malaysia to Vietnam Eyeing It, Bobibos Awaits Local Validation
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Interest in the straw-based biofuel Bobibos is emerging from abroad. Several business actors from Asia are reportedly exploring collaboration opportunities, even before the product officially passes testing in Indonesia.
Bobibos overseer and member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mulyadi, revealed that the interest comes from several neighbouring countries. They are said to be monitoring Bobibos developments and awaiting the initial launch momentum in the regional area.
“Bobibos Parallel has even been visited by entrepreneurs from Bangladesh and Malaysia, and Vietnam has been alerted,” Mulyadi told Kompas.com on Friday (24/4/2026).
“After Timor-Leste, their countries request to be prioritised for cooperation, because those three countries have rice paddy areas that enable mass production of Bobibos,” explained this native son of Jonggol, West Java.
Meanwhile, domestically, Bobibos is still in the early phase. The product has just entered the technical testing stage with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, which will determine whether it is suitable for use as an alternative fuel.
Bobibos founder, M Iklas Thamrin, stated that the testing is being conducted in stages, starting from the laboratory at the Centre for Oil and Gas Testing (Lemigas) to determine the basic characteristics of the fuel.
“In the initial stage, the testing will cover various important aspects, such as physical and chemical properties, stability, compatibility with engines, ease of flow, ignition quality, and corrosion levels,” said Iklas.
After that, the testing will proceed to performance aspects, including exhaust gas emissions, engine durability, and potential deposit formation. If all initial stages pass, the fuel will then be road-tested to observe performance in real conditions.
In other words, the path to commercialisation is still long. All test results will later serve as the basis for the government in determining the status of this fuel, including whether it falls into a new category or follows existing standards.
“If anyone claims to be selling Bobibos, it is certainly a hoax; we ask for prayers so that the functional tests can succeed to become an energy solution,” he said.