Palm Oil Bio-Jet Fuel
Palm Oil Bio-Jet Fuel is an environmentally friendly aviation fuel produced from a blend of jet fuel (conventional fossil-based aircraft fuel) with components made from palm oil. Bio-jet fuel is part of the fuel category globally known as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Raw Materials and Production Process
In Indonesia, bio-jet fuel is produced by PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI) using RBDPKO (Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Kernel Oil) as the feedstock that is, palm kernel oil that has undergone bleaching as well as the removal of free fatty acids and odors. Production is carried out through co-processing technology at the Cilacap Refinery in Central Java, a process of treating RBDPKO together with fossil jet fuel feedstock in the same refinery unit, without requiring significant construction of new facilities.
Development Journey in Indonesia
Pertamina’s bio-jet fuel development research has been initiated since 2010 through Pertamina Research & Technology Innovation. The development of this product is the result of collaboration between the Directorate General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), the research team of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) as research coordinator, the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) as activity sponsor, and Garuda Indonesia as the provider of the aircraft units for testing.
In 2021, PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional succeeded in producing bio-jet fuel with the SAF J2.4 formula at Refinery Unit IV Cilacap, with a production capacity of 1,350 kiloliters per day. This product then went through a series of gradual tests from fuel cell tests at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF), ground run tests, flight tests on the CN-235 military aircraft owned by PT Dirgantara Indonesia, to finally flight tests on commercial aircraft.
At its peak, on 27 October 2023, Pertamina together with Garuda Indonesia carried out the first commercial flight in Indonesia also claimed to be the first in the world using fuel blended with palm kernel oil, on the route from Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Adi Soemarmo Airport in Solo, using a Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft. The flight test results showed performance equivalent to conventional jet fuel, with no significant differences in aircraft operation.
Objectives and Benefits
The use of bio-jet fuel aims to reduce exhaust emissions from the aviation sector, in line with Pertamina’s commitment to achieving the Net Zero Emission (NZE) target by 2060. Besides environmental benefits, the use of palm oil components in bio-jet fuel also has the potential to drive the development of the downstream palm oil industry and the domestic economy.
As context for the scale of global demand, a number of experts estimate that the aviation industry will need around 450 billion liters of SAF per year by 2050 for this type of fuel to contribute about 65% to the net-zero emission mitigation targets of the world’s aviation sector.4
Development Challenges in Indonesia
Although Indonesia, as the world’s largest palm oil producer, has great feedstock potential, the large-scale development of bio-jet fuel production still faces a number of obstacles, including technological limitations, production costs, and regulatory frameworks, while current domestic demand is still relatively low.5 The Indonesian government is also encouraging this development through a fiscal incentive program for palm oil-based SAF production processed together with fossil jet fuel at the Cilacap green refinery.6
References
Indonesia.go.id, “Carving History in the Sky with Bio-jet Fuel”, https://indonesia.go.id/kategori/editorial/7735/mengukir-sejarah-melayang-dengan-bioavtur?lang=1
Kompas.com, “SAF, Pertamina’s First Palm Oil Bio-jet Fuel, Tested for the First Time on a Garuda Aircraft”, https://money.kompas.com/read/2023/10/28/090000526/saf-bioavtur-minyak-sawit-pertama-bikinan-pertamina-diuji-coba-perdana-di?page=all
Media Indonesia, “Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Pertamina’s Bio-jet Fuel for Environmentally Friendly Aviation”, https://mediaindonesia.com/humaniora/625016/sustainable-aviation-fuel-bioavtur-pertamina-untuk-penerbangan-ramah-lingkungan
4 Indonesiana.id, “Aircraft Fuel from Palm Oil Blends”, https://www.indonesiana.id/read/177885/bahan-bakar-pesawat-dari-campuran-minyak-sawit
5 PT Citra Cendekia Indonesia, “The Development of Bio-jet Fuel in Indonesia and the World”, http://cci-indonesia.com/perkembangan-bioavtur-di-indonesia-dan-dunia/
6 ICCT, “Fiscal Incentive Program for Producing Bio-jet Fuel”, https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ID-513-%E2%80%93-Indonesia-SAF-BH_brief_final.pdf