Indonesia Plans Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Boost Amid High Costs

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December 01, 2025

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by Saifulbahri Ismail and Marcel Pereira (Channel News Asia) Selling used cooking oil has become a side income for residents near Indonesia’s largest refinery, a vital supply link in the nation’s sustainable aviation fuel plans.

CILACAP, Indonesia: Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina is ramping up efforts to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as part of the country’s drive to cut carbon emissions from air travel.

The company plans to expand SAF production capacity at its existing refineries and is exploring the possibility of building new green refineries.

Currently, SAF is being produced at Pertamina’s Cilacap refinery in Central Java, and the company is either developing or planning green refinery capabilities to make such fuel at its facilities in South Sumatra, Riau, West Java and East Kalimantan.

The Indonesian government aims to raise the national SAF blend mandate for international flights to 5 per cent by 2035.

At the recent United Nations climate conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, Indonesia said it aims to produce over 1 million kilolitres of SAF annually by 2030, with used cooking oil as a key feedstock.

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TURNING USED COOKING OIL INTO JET FUEL

Pertamina’s Cilacap facility is the largest oil refinery in the country, processing 348,000 barrels of crude oil per day and supplying roughly a third of Indonesia’s fuel needs.

It is being developed into a green refinery to produce sustainable aviation fuel, and can yield about 1.4 million litres a day – roughly half the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool.

About 3 per cent of that comes from used cooking oil.

The refinery converts the used cooking oil into SAF through several chemical processes.

The oil is mixed with kerosene, heated to around 70°C, then transferred to a reactor where it is further heated to over 300°C and passed through layers of catalysts, which trigger and speed up chemical reactions.

Hydrogen is added to stabilise the mixture.

The result is a cleaner fuel suitable for jet engines, while cutting aviation’s carbon footprint by up to 80 per cent compared to conventional jet fuel.

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SCALING UP GREEN REFINERY CAPACITY
To increase Indonesia’s SAF output, Pertamina is working to raise the proportion of used cooking oil in its fuel blends.

Its engineers are also experimenting with catalyst improvements to increase production efficiency.

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Indonesia’s potential supply of used cooking oil is significant. The country uses about 6 to 7 million tonnes of cooking oil every year, said Pertamina’s deputy president director Oki Muraza.

“If we could collect just 20 per cent of that, like in developed countries, we would have a large amount of raw material – enough to supply the domestic industry.”

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In the Tegalreja district, near the Cilacap refinery, residents are selling their used cooking oil at local waste banks instead of pouring it down the drain. Each kilogram fetches around US$0.30.

“Used cooking oil is something every household has. Selling it adds to our income. Even if it’s just a little, it helps,” said Bartinah, a resident of KB Gadis village.

“It gives us motivation and hope that one day, the price could rise even higher, maybe up to 10,000 rupiah (US$0.60) per kilogram.”

Indonesia has a potential supply of around 1 million litres of used cooking oil annually, but about 95 per cent of it is exported to Europe and other parts of Asia.

Community collection initiatives could redirect more of that to domestic SAF production.

“In the beginning, we collected around 80kg to 100kg of used cooking oil a month. Now, it’s up to about 170kg,” said Sri Widowati, a coordinator at the Tegalreja Waste Bank. READ MORE; includes VIDEO

Asia Pacific aviation on track to meet 5% sustainable fuel target: Industry body: Governments need to enforce policies to accelerate sustainable aviation fuel production and adoption, says the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines' director general Subhas Menon during an interview with CNA’s Yasmin Jonkers. (Channel News Asia; includes VIDEO)

Excerpt from Channel News Asia: Governments across Asia Pacific are taking proactive steps to help airlines make aviation more sustainable, the director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said.

Speaking to CNA in Bangkok last week, Subhas Menon said the trade body is confident its members are on track to hit a goal of using 5 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by the end of the decade.

AAPA leaders in 2023 pledged to strive for a SAF utilisation target of 5 per cent by 2030.

The trade association represents airlines based in the Asia Pacific. It currently has 18 members, including Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Air India.

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Menon noted that an increasing number of governments in the region are introducing policies and regulations aimed at supporting the industry’s sustainability targets.

They include encouraging the adoption of cleaner jet fuels to promoting technological innovation and collaboration among sectors.

Singapore, for example, implemented an SAF levy last week. Airline passengers departing from Singapore will have to pay duties ranging from S$1 (US$0.77) to S$41.60 per ticket, depending on their travel destination and travel class.

Singapore also aims for SAF to account for 1 per cent of all jet fuel next year, rising to 3 to 5 per cent by 2030.

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Menon said there is a need for governments to enforce policies and regulations to accelerate SAF production and adoption because high costs, limited infrastructure and market uncertainty make it difficult for the private sector to scale up on its own.

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Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s most populous country, is considering a regulation to require international flights from Jakarta and Bali use a 1 per cent SAF blend from next year, gradually increasing to 5 per cent by 2035.

Malaysia is targeting a 47 per cent SAF blending mandate by 2050, and is looking to build domestic production, blending and supply of the fuel.

Japan has mandated that its refiners must supply SAF equivalent to 10 per cent of their aviation fuel sales by 2030.

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Furthermore, tariffs – particularly those from United States President Donald Trump – are expected to spur inflation and undermine supply chain recovery, he added

Industry groups representing global aerospace companies have already warned that such duties could jeopardise air safety or trigger other unintended consequences. READ MORE