Nusa Dua, CNBC Indonesia – The implementation of the B35 biofuel program in Indonesia continues to show good progress from day to day. The proof is that the domestic contribution in implementing B35 biofuel has reached 8.9 million kilo liters (68%) as of September 2023. Meanwhile, 121,000 kilo liters of B35 were recorded as being exported abroad.
Director General of New and Renewable Energy (EBTKE) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Yudo Dwiananda Priaadi said that to achieve the zero emission target, in the future Indonesia will need more palm oil supplies.
“As a mandatory program, the implementation of biofuel through B35 in 2023 has a domestic allocation of 13.15 million kilo liters and is expected to reach 13.9 million kilo liters in 2025,” explained Yudo at IPOC 2023, Thursday (2/11/2023).
Regarding the availability of supplies from Indonesian palm oil in the future, even though Indonesia is the largest palm oil producing country in the world, it still faces productivity problems that are far from ideal.
This was stated by Gapki Chairman Eddy Martono. Currently, according to him, the average Indonesian CPO production is only 3-4 tonnes/ha per year. “To meet global needs, the importance of the community palm oil program or PSR must not be ignored,” he said.
Without this program, he believes that the productivity of oil palm plantations is projected to decline seriously. In 2025, it is estimated that CPO (Crude Palm Oil) production will only reach around 44 million metric tons.
“This emphasizes the important role of this program in maintaining the sustainability of the industry,” stressed Eddy.
The Future of the SAF
Not only B35 biofuel, Indonesia is currently developing the use of other renewable energy made from palm oil. Recently, the government through state-owned airlines has tested aircraft fuel or bioavtur which is the result of research by Pertamina and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
“Tests have begun to be carried out by mixing 2.4% bioavtur in the fuel composition of the CN-235-220 FTB aircraft and it was successful. Massive bioavtur production will be carried out in 2026,” said Yudo.
Responding to this, business actors welcomed the government’s efforts to develop palm oil-based energy.
General Manager of Green Energy Apical Group, Aika Yuri Winata, stated the importance of the company’s role in introducing the development of vegetable oils to the world.
Apart from that, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (ASF) is not only the future of renewable energy in the future, but also emphasizes palm oil as the most sustainable vegetable oil in meeting the needs of the world community in the future.
According to him, the global aviation sector is an important contributor to CO2 emissions, accounting for 3% of emissions in 2019. It is also one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize, with a commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
“SAF has emerged as the most promising and viable alternative to conventional aircraft fuel, capable of reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90%,” explained Aika.
Furthermore, Aika explained that to accelerate the adoption of SAF and decarbonize air travel, it is important to leverage the strengths of the ASEAN region.
ASEAN countries collectively offer more than 16 million metric tons of waste and residual oil annually, with potential raw materials such as used cooking oil, palm oil mill waste, empty fruit bunch oil, and palm oil fatty acid distillate.
Currently, said Aika, there are three things that are still challenges for the implementation of SAF in Indonesia and also in the world.
“Indonesia as the largest palm oil producer in the world is required to increase palm oil productivity, bioavtur production costs are still high compared to Fossil and integrated government policies in supporting bioenergy policies, especially bioavtur, are very necessary,” explained Aika.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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