JAKARTA – Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that the government is currently pushing for the implementation of the mandatory program of 10% bioavtur, which is a mixture of 10% bioavtur processed from vegetable oils with 90% fossil-based aviation turbine fuel (avtur).
Bahlil said that he had submitted a proposal of the bioavtur program to President Prabowo Subianto. “Now we are pushing the Ministry of ESDM to realize the production of bioavtur. Our neighboring country has produced bioavtur by using CPO and used cooking oil imported from us. I want to make it a mandatory program in Indonesia. I have reported to President that we’ll produce at least 10% bioavtur and develop our own refinery in Indonesia,” Bahlil said in Jakarta on Thursday (28/11/2024).
Bahlil then highlighted that Indonesia should not only be a supplier of raw materials for other countries, but should also be able to produce bioavtur independently. It is also aimed to strengthen the renewable energy sovereignty in the national aviation sector.
“That way we can encourage our sovereignty of renewable energy for aircraft. We can do it in Indonesia. It is saddening to see that our neighboring countries make it by using raw materials from us, but then they sell it to us,” he said.
He criticized those people who doubted the program on the grounds of expensive production costs. “I’m surprised to find that a number of smart people in this republic are the best at creating narratives to defend other countries. They say it will be expensive, expensive, expensive. So for me, sorry, I’m red and white (nationalist),” he said.
Previously, Director General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation at the ministry of energy and mineral resources (KESDM), Edi Wibowo said that they are in a process of drafting a roadmap to produce bioavtur by using palm kernel oil (PKO) as its feedstock. “So far, bioavtur is not yet as massive as those of biodiesel and bioethanol. But we’ve been successful in conducting ground run tests and flying test of using the bioavtur for commercial airplanes. It’s a mixture of conventional avtur and 2.4% bioavtur from PKO (J2.4). Until now, we’ve been continually evaluating the bioavtur. If it’s ready, we’ll start commercial production,” he said.
President Director of PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI), Taufik Aditiyawarman said recently that the United Arab Emirat (UAE) has been interested in using the palm oil-based bioavtur from Indonesia. The state-owned energy company is seeking to secure a deal with UAE to export the bioavtur from Indonesia.
According to him, actually, besides UAE, there are other countries that are interested to use the clean and ecofriendly energy from Indonesia. (*) Source: sawitkita.id
