Indonesia Prepares E50 Bioethanol Roadmap to End Gasoline Imports

(Antara) Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Minister Bahlil Lahadalia stated that Indonesia can eliminate finished gasoline imports once the country successfully rolls out an E50 bioethanol blend mandate.

Speaking on the sidelines of a ministry event in Jakarta on Monday, Bahlil revealed that President Prabowo Subianto instructed the National Energy Council to immediately draw up a roadmap toward E50—a fuel blend containing 50 percent ethanol.

"If we can achieve the E50 standard—God willing—we will meet our target of no longer importing finished gasoline products," Bahlil said.

The plan to introduce E50 follows the country's successful deployment of the B50 biodiesel mandate—a blend of 50 percent palm-based fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and 50 percent diesel fuel.

With annual national gasoline consumption reaching 39 to 40 million kiloliters, the government aims to leverage domestic resources to protect national energy security from global geopolitical volatility.

To support the transition, the government has identified domestic sugarcane, cassava, and corn as primary raw materials for ethanol production—taking inspiration from Brazil's adoption of E100.

Bahlil outlined a phased rollout plan for the bioethanol roadmap, starting with E10 in 2027 and advancing to E20 in 2028 before scaling up to E50.

However, he emphasized that the program must rely strictly on domestic agricultural supply rather than foreign bioethanol imports.

"We do not want to implement E10, E20, or E50 if the ethanol is imported from abroad; that would amount to the same thing," Bahlil said, reiterating the government's commitment to self-reliance.

Alongside biofuel expansion, President Prabowo's broader energy security agenda calls for accelerated exploration of domestic oil basins and blocks, as well as the optimization of aging wells to boost national crude production. READ MORE

Indonesia is fast-tracking a plan to produce a 20% ethanol fuel blend using domestically grown sugarcane, with President Prabowo Subianto ordering relevant ministries to prepare land and processing infrastructure within two years.

The government identified sugarcane as the most viable feedstock for the E20 program after ruling out corn and cassava as unsuitable for mass-scale mechanized production, according to a Sept. 17 release from Office of Assistant to the Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents. Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan announced the directive following a limited cabinet meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on the same day.

"The President presided over the limited meeting," Hasan said. "We discussed the target to produce at least E20 within the next two years. Therefore, the Minister of Agriculture was ordered to prepare the plans, including land."

The push toward E20 carries direct implications for Indonesia's gasoline import demand. If realized, a 20% ethanol blend across the country's fuel pool would require a substantial ramp-up in domestic ethanol output, potentially displacing a significant volume of imported gasoline or blending components.

Indonesia's ethanol output stood at just 160,946 kiloliters in 2024, according to industry body Apsendo, while a 10% blending program alone would require 1.4 million kiloliters annually, nearly nine times that figure.

Land and industry

The government is preparing approximately two million hectares of sugarcane farmland spread across Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua, according to Hasan. Sovereign wealth fund Danantara has been tasked with developing the ethanol processing industry to support the program.

"It turns out that sugarcane is the most viable source for ethanol conversion," Hasan said. "We are preparing approximately two million hectares of land, drawing from locations outside of Java, on Java, and on Sumatra. Subsequently, Danantara will develop the industry. We must work hard over the next two years to assess the progress. We need to be capable of producing E20."

The minister said the government has mapped regions with sugarcane farming potential and confirmed that the E20 blend will be sourced entirely from domestic production. He added that the long-term ambition extends beyond E20, with E50 cited as an eventual target, mirroring the trajectory of Indonesia's biodiesel program.

"We will gradually move toward E50, as we did toward B50," Hasan said. "However, we must first aim for E20. In the long run, we are eyeing E50."

Indonesia implemented a 5% ethanol blend in gasoline, known as E5, starting in July 2026, alongside the world's highest biodiesel blending mandate of 50%, or B50, which also took effect in July.

The latest announcement suggests Jakarta is seeking to accelerate its bioethanol rollout well beyond the schedule set in an April decree, which requires fuel retailers to blend ethanol at a minimum of 5% over 2026-27, rising to 10% between 2028 and 2030, according to the energy and mineral resources ministry.

The first phase of the E5 mandate covers Jakarta, East Java, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, Bali and Lampung, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

President Prabowo had also asked the agriculture ministry to speed up sugarcane replanting programs to be completed within two years, rather than the previous four-year target, and to set up at least 30 new bioethanol plants.

Asian ethanol prices for both fuel-grade and industrial-grade ethanol climbed to their highest levels in three months, supported by higher US ethanol futures, origin prices and freight rates, according to Platts assessments from S&P Global Energy. READ MORE

Excerpt from UkrSugar/UkrAgroConsult: Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman previously said the country would need to prepare around 1 mln hectares of land to develop the sugar industry. The government plans to prioritize degraded land, although the use of other areas has not been ruled out.

At the same time, Indonesia is ending its large-scale program to expand rice cultivation area after the government said the country had achieved self-sufficiency in the staple crop. According to Mighty Earth, more than 50 thsd hectares of tropical forests, savannas, peatlands and wetlands have been cleared for sugarcane and rice production since the beginning of 2024.

Indonesia already makes extensive use of agricultural feedstocks for fuel production, with palm oil widely used in biodiesel and its share in the fuel blend set to increase further. Expanding sugarcane-based ethanol production will become another tool for reducing the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels. READ MORE