Pertamina Refinery Ready To Produce First Certified SAF Friendly Fuel In ASEAN

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - A subsidiary of BUMN Pertamina Group, PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI), is ready to produce environmentally friendly fuels, namely the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at the national and Southeast Asian levels.

"The TDHT (Treated Distillate Hydro Treatment) unit located at the Cilacap Refinery has succeeded in achieving ISCC Corsia and EU certification for SAF in early December 2024," said KPI Corporate Secretary Hermansyah Y Nasroen in his statement, quoted by Antara, Saturday, January 11.

KPI has obtained the ISCC (International Sustainability Carbon Certification) Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and Europe Union (EU) certificates to produce SAF from the raw materials for refined oil or Used Cooking Oil (UCO).

With this certification, SAF KPI meets the requirements for sustainability and can be accepted and traded according to the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) CORSIA (worldwide) and the European Union. SAF is an environmentally friendly fuel for aircraft.

According to Hermansyah, the achievement of the certificate shows international recognition of the ability and capability of KPI in producing SAF.

In addition to being able to produce Pertamina SAF, Hermansyah explained that the TDHT Cilacap Refinery Unit can also produce solar vegetable fuels from 100 percent of vegetable raw materials since 2022. This product is known as Pertamina Renewable Diesel (RD) or Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) which has also been certified by ISCC.

According to Hermansyah, KPI also continues to innovate to produce Pertamina SAF through Project USAF (UCO to SAF) which was launched in 2024.

"KPI was previously able to produce Pertamina SAF with materials for Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Kernel Oil (RBDPKO) or palm kernel oil, and now KPI is ready to step up by producing the first ISCC certified Pertamina SAF in Indonesia/Regional with crude oil raw materials planned for the first quarter of 2025," said Hermansyah.

SAF produced using a mixture of crude oil raw materials has an excess in the form of lower carbon emissions by around > 90 percent compared to avtur which is made from 100 percent of crude oil. In addition, the absorption of crude oil to be used as a mixture of raw materials for making avtur can contribute to reducing used cooking oil waste which can potentially pollute the environment.

Furthermore, said Hermansyah, in preparation for SAF production from refined oil, in January 2025 there will be a substitution of catalysts capable of processing refined oil into SAF at the Cilacap Refinery.

"The catalyst that will be used is the result of the development of Pertamina's technology and innovation in collaboration with the expert and engineer PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional. This catalyst is produced in a domestic catalyst factory facility. This shows the mastery of advanced technology by Indonesian engineers," said Hermansyah.

Vice President of Corporate Communication of PT Pertamina (Persero), Fadjar Djoko Santoso added that Pertamina Group is committed to developing environmentally friendly energy, including SAF which is used to support the air transportation industry in Indonesia.

"Through the development of green fuel, Pertamina is determined to carry out the mandate of Indonesia's energy resilience and sovereignty, as well as contribute to maintaining sustainability in the country," he said.