Indonesia stresses need for accelerating SAF development
Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Industry said that it understands the need for accelerating SAF development in the country.
“The roadmap for SAF for aircraft has been issued by the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment, and we are giving inputs,” said Eniya Listiani Dewi, ministry’s Director General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation.
Dewi affirmed that airfares for trips from Singapore to Indonesia are projected to increase following the use of SAF for aircraft at the Singapore Changi Airport, according to Indonesian state-owned news agency Antara.
“The return tickets for our aircraft coming to Singapore Changi Airport will be much more expensive because they require one percent SAF, and the SAF price is charged to the passenger tickets,” she explained.
Dewi believes this can be a business opportunity for Indonesia to prepare SAF.
“I think Pertamina (state-run oil and gas company) has prepared it because we want to push palm-based biofuel. Hopefully, it can accelerate our investment in the field of new renewable energy,” she remarked.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has called on Pertamina to accelerate efforts for developing SAF. The state-run company has also established collaborations with Airbus and Boeing.
On October 27, 2023, Pertamina and flag carrier Garuda Indonesia carried out the first commercial flight using SAF on the Soekarno-Hatta Airport–Adi Soemarmo Airport route.
In 2021, Pertamina’s refining and petrochemical subholding PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional produced J2.4 SAF at the IV Cilacap Refinery Unit. The SAF was developed with a co-processing technology using refined bleached deodorised palm kernel oil (RBDPKO) with a capacity of 1,350 kiloliters per day.