JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia took another step towards launching biodiesel containing 50% palm-oil based biofuel (B50) by concluding laboratory tests, an energy ministry official said on Tuesday, as the country aims for implementation next year.
Palm-oil based biodiesel is currently mandated at 40% blend (B40) but Indonesia wants to increase the level to reduce its reliance on imports of fossil fuels.
The laboratory testing involved running an engine using the B50 fuel and was concluded in August. Officials will now carry out road tests, the energy ministry’s bioenergy director, Edi Wibowo, told Reuters.
“Based on the test results we will move forward to launch road tests and testing on non-automotive machineries that run on diesel,” he said.
The timing of the road test was still to be decided, he said.
Indonesia aims to make B50 mandatory in 2026, but it was unlikely to happen in January, a senior energy ministry official said in August.
Adopting B50 would require 20.1 million kilolitres of palm-oil based biofuel a year for mixing with regular petroleum diesel, compared to 15.6 million KL with B40, energy ministry data shows.
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Neil Fullick)
