E10 Fuel to Be Implemented, Experts Say Indonesia Not Ready for Ethanol Production

KatadataOTO – The government has once again raised the discourse on implementing gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol or E10 in Indonesia.

The plan was brought up after a number of Public Fuel Filling Stations (SPBU) canceled the use of base fuel from Pertamina.

The cancellation was reportedly due to the discovery of a three percent ethanol content, which was deemed not to comply with the specifications of private gas stations.

E10 gasoline is part of the government's plan to pursue Net Zero Emission.

Photo : Antara

However, there are still several challenges that need to be faced by stakeholders. 

One of them is the production of ethanol, which must be done to significantly reduce the amount of imports and empower various domestic sectors such as agriculture.

“If ethanol is produced domestically, it will certainly have a (positive) impact, but I haven't calculated it yet,” said Ronny Purwadi, an academic from the Faculty of Industrial Technology at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in Jakarta, on Monday (20/10).

However, looking at the current conditions, he assesses that the industry is not yet ready for the production of ethanol blends in Indonesia. Especially if the government wants ethanol production to be realized starting next year.

“If we start building a bioethanol plant today, I'm not sure it will be finished in one year. The ambition is fine, but the realization must be calculated,” Ronny emphasized.

If the use of gasoline with an ethanol blend is to be promoted starting in 2026, the government must first prepare the supporting ecosystem and its production plan.

Thus, the presence of ethanol will not replace fossil fuel imports but help reduce them. It is hoped that the agricultural sector will also receive a positive impact from the implementation of E10 gasoline in Indonesia.

In addition, related parties such as car manufacturers need to ensure that the vehicle lines sold have tanks suitable for accommodating E10.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Analysts assess that many gasoline tanks in cars produced before 2010 are not compatible with storing E10 fuel.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the population of older vehicles or those from older production years is still quite large. 

Meanwhile, other manufacturers have not been able to confirm whether the gasoline tanks in their cars meet the criteria for accommodating ethanol-blended fuel.