After B50, the Government Prepares Mandatory Ethanol Starting 2027

KARAWANG - The government has begun to prepare further steps after the launch of B50 biodiesel. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia said the government would replicate the success of biodiesel to encourage the use of ethanol in gasoline.

Bahlil said that mandatory ethanol would begin in 2027. The initial phase is in the range of 10 percent to 20 percent.

"With the success of B50, we want coffee, we want an example for gasoline, namely ethanol," said Bahlil at the launch of B50 by President Prabowo Subianto in Karawang, West Java, Thursday, July 9.

According to Bahlil, President Prabowo's direction is clear. Ethanol must be run as part of efforts to strengthen energy based on domestic resources.

"Now the direction of the President, we have to do ethanol, then we will do it mandatorily in 2027, the first phase is 10 percent to 20 percent," said Bahlil.

Ethanol is a vegetable fuel that can be mixed into gasoline. In the government's plan, the fuel can come from sugar cane, cassava, and corn.

Bahlil said that the development of ethanol would be managed jointly by Danantara, Pertamina, and other private actors. He hopes that this step can follow in the footsteps of biodiesel which has entered B50.

The B50 program itself was launched after a six-month trial. According to Bahlil, the trial was carried out in various modes and sectors, ranging from trains, cars, buses, ships, to industrial users.

Bahlil said that B50 is now being used by about 56 percent of the total solar running. The government has prepared a two-month transition period until B40 is exhausted and all solar use switches to B50.

"So now it has been used 56 percent of the total solar that has been running. So later the B40 two months will be over, two months of transition, everything has been using B50," said Bahlil.

Bahlil said B50 is not just a mixture of fossil and vegetable fuels. He described it as a bold step to use our own resources.

"B50 is not just a mixture of fossil and vegetable fuels. B50 is a combination of the courage to make decisions, the people's side, and the belief that Indonesia is able to stand on its own resources," said Bahlil.

Even so, the challenge of ethanol is not small. If biodiesel is based on palm oil, ethanol requires readiness of other raw materials such as sugar cane, cassava, and corn. The government must also ensure supply, price, and industry readiness before mandatory implementation.

Bahlil did not detail the need for ethanol raw materials in 2027. He only mentioned that the program would start gradually from 10 percent to 20 percent.