Biodiesel Producers Ready to Invest in Preparation for B30

JAKARTA--Having implemented B20 mandatory program, Indonesia has a plan in place to boost the use of biodiesel by rolling out B30, a blend of 30 percent by volume biodiesel with 70 percent by volume petroleum diesel.

The government is expected to carry out road test for B30 this year. Biodiesel producers stand ready if they have to invest in asset and to improve quality of their products in preparation for implementation of B30.

“We are expecting the road test result will recommend us to make only a few minor adjustments. If we have to make some more improvement, then we have to invest,” Chairman of the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (Aprobi) Paulus Tjakrawan said on a press release, Thursday (7/2/2019).

If mandatory B30 is implemented, it will need 9-10 million kiloliters biodiesel for domestic demand. The need for biodiesel will be much higher if it is combined with export supply. It is more than the national production capacity which is only 12 million kiloliters and therefore investment is a must. “Apart from that, government has a plan to develop green diesel. It means investment to build catalyst plants is a must.”

Paulus added that some countries like Thailand, China, and Malaysia hope to emulate the success of Indonesia`s biodiesel mandatory program. “Thailand could be a new market for Indonesian biodiesel.”

According to Aprobi’s data, biodiesel shipment from Indonesia increased 851% from 164 thousand tons in 2017 to 1.56 million tons in 2018. In domestic market, biodiesel demand increased 72% from 2.2 million tons in 2017 to 3.8 million tons in 2018 because of expanded B20 mandatory program. ***