Bahlil Confidence B40 Biodiesel Program To Start 1st January 2025

KOMPAS.com/Ruly Kurniawan

Bahlil Confidence B40 Biodiesel Program To Start 1st January 2025

Wednesday, 06 Nov 2024

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, is confident that the 40 percent biodiesel program (B40) will start on January 1, 2025. B40 is a fuel made from a mix of 40 percent palm oil (CPO) and 60 percent diesel. Previously, the government had a B35 program, which used 35 percent palm oil.

"B40 will begin on January 1, and the program will continue to develop towards B100," Bahlil said after a press conference about the Quick Win Program proposal at the Four Seasons Hotel in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Sunday, November 3, 2024.

Bahlil mentioned that the next step is to prepare for a 100 percent biodiesel (B100) concept, which will use only palm oil. "This will be done in stages, and we will report on it," he added. He also noted that the B40 program has been tested and is ready for implementation. "God willing, it will start on January 1, 2025. It has been tested and is ready to go," Bahlil stated.

Meanwhile, Agus Cahyono Adi, Head of the Communication, Public Information Services, and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of ESDM, revealed that the use of biodiesel has been increasing in recent years.

The increase shows the government's commitment to reducing reliance on fossil fuels and enhancing energy security by using biodiesel. The blending ratio will continue to rise, starting from B35, moving to B40, and eventually reaching B50 and B60, said Agus in a press release from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on October 26, 2024.

To clarify, B50 means a fuel mix of 50 percent palm oil (CPO) and 50 percent diesel. B60 indicates a mix of 60 percent palm oil (CPO) and 40 percent diesel. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, biodiesel production reached 9.3 million kiloliters (KL) in 2021 and increased to 10.45 million KL in 2022.

In 2023, production rose to 12.2 million KL with the B35 mandate starting in August.

The economic benefits of biodiesel production in 2023 included a foreign exchange savings of Rp 120.54 trillion, an increase in the value of crude palm oil (CPO) to biodiesel worth Rp 15.82 trillion, and the creation of over 11,000 off-farm jobs and 1.5 million on-farm jobs.