“The road test is currently underway and will continue for the next six months,” Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said at the Investor Daily Summit 2025 in Jakarta.
He added that a national meeting of the Steering Committee (Komrah) and the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) will be scheduled soon to ensure sufficient supply of crude palm oil for the B50 rollout.
“Coordination with BPDP is essential because the B50 program depends on stable CPO supply,” he said.
“We will schedule the Komrah meeting soon, but the road test has already started,” he added.
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Separately, Eniya Listiani Dewi, director general of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said the B50 tests are being conducted on multiple types of equipment.
“The tests are being carried out on locomotives, trains, ship engines, and generators at steam power plants,” Eniya said.
The government is still considering whether to adopt B50 or opt for a slightly lower blend, B45, depending on the availability of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), a key component derived from palm oil.
According to Eniya, implementing B45 would require 17 million kiloliters (KL) of FAME, while B50 would need about 19 million KL. The projected FAME availability for 2025 is only around 15.6 million KL.
Currently, Indonesia has mandated the use of B40, which had reached 10 million KL as of September, about 64.7 percent of the annual target.
The B40 program has also delivered significant economic benefits, helping Indonesia save an estimated $9.3 billion (IDR 147.5 trillion) in foreign exchange in 2025.
Related news: Indonesia aims for B50 to speed energy shift
Translator: Putu, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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