By: Hidayatul Mustafidah Rohmawati, Michael Suryaprawira
Bioethanol, a renewable fuel derived from organic materials, has garnered significant attention as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In Indonesia, the push towards bioethanol has seen renewed momentum in the past year, with Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company, introducing E5 (Pertamax Green). A blend of regular fuel with 5% bioethanol, it is now available at 15 fuel stations in Jakarta and Surabaya.
This launch represents a significant milestone in Indonesia’s efforts to integrate renewable energy into its transportation sector. The introduction of E5 aims to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and promote cleaner air in urban areas.
Indonesia possesses vast potential for bioethanol production due to its extensive agricultural lands and favourable climate. But the challenge is to balance bioethanol production with the availability of sustainable feedstocks, such as sugarcane and cassava. A previous attempt to introduce bioethanol-blended fuel in 2007 was discontinued a few years later due to a lack of feedstock supply.
In 2023, the government released Presidential Decree No. 40/2023 on Sugar Self-Sufficiency, highlighting the need to balance bioethanol production with food security. Ensuring the bioethanol supply chain is one of the obstacles to development in the sector. The total production of fuel-grade bioethanol has only reached a fraction of that required to met expected demands. Yet forcing limited resources to provide bioethanol would potentially leave the project unsustainable, or have other unintended consequences across the food sector.
Learning from experiences in the United States and Brazil can provide valuable insights for developing a robust bioethanol industry in Indonesia. The United States presently leads bioethanol production with approximate 55% of global volume, predominantly made using corn. The US experience highlights the role of technological innovation, government incentives, and a strong agricultural base in developing a successful bioethanol industry. It shows the importance of diversifying feedstocks and investing in second-generation bioethanol technologies to enhance sustainability and reduce competition with food production.
The opinion has been published on Theinterpreter.
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