Government Officially Tests Solar B40 Road On Vehicles

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif. (Photo: Doc. ESDM)

JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has officially conducted a road test of a mixture of diesel fuel with vegetable oil (B40) on passenger vehicles.

In this trial, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources cooperates with the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS), National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (GAIKINDO), and Association of Indonesian Biofuel Producers (Aprobi) to conduct road tests on 12 cars, including 6 diesel-engined passenger cars such as the Kijang Innova, Mitsubishi Triton, and the Hyundai Tucson.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources conducted a trial on B40 biodiesel which is a mixture of CPO or palm-based biofuels, namely fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) of 40 percent with 60 percent of diesel fuel.

In addition, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is also conducting trials on B30D10 or a mixed fuel of 60 percent diesel, 30 percent FAME, and 10 percent hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO).

"The program for substituting fuel into biofuels is a program that has been prepared since 2015 and has gone through a series of trials. So far, it has reached 8 million KL", said Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif to reporters, Wednesday, July 27.

Arifin hopes that the B30 program is expected to help maintain the stability of palm oil commodities in Indonesia.

"Alhamdulillah, with the B30 program, we can maintain the stability of palm oil commodities. This stability is needed especially for people who depend on oil palm plantations for their livelihoods", he continued.

He hopes that this program can continue until the implementation of B100 in the future because it can minimize the financial balance deficit due to fossil oil which has begun to decrease.

"Thank God, Indonesia is a pioneer in utilizing biodiesel products. Don't just stop at B30. We have to go to B100. The impact of the current energy crisis puts tremendous pressure on the government budget", he concluded.