Indonesia just doubled its 2028 ethanol-blending goal to 20%, tightening the focus on reducing dependence on imported fuel. Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan outlined the shift after a late Wednesday meeting with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta. The move builds on momentum from July, when the mandatory palm-based biodiesel blend was raised to 50%. This is part of a broader global push for crop-based fuels to support farmers, lower transport emissions and bolster energy security, a trend underscored by this year's interruptions affecting oil shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.
Authorities intend to dedicate roughly 2 million hectares across Java as well as Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua to grow sugarcane, while Danantara will handle construction of the ethanol-processing capacity. After weighing corn and cassava, Zulkifli said sugarcane came out as the most practical feedstock. The Agriculture Ministry will design the production plan and secure the land - which he flagged as the main bottleneck.
Work is already in progress: In July, the ministry and the state producer Sinergi Gula Nusantara unveiled a program to replant 298,000 hectares of old plantations, improve irrigation, and upgrade sugar mills. Officials have set aside 9 trillion rupiah ($507 million) to boost plantation productivity, including by deploying higher-yield seedlings.
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Ethanol supply will need to ramp significantly. Indonesia's program today is limited to E5, and the US Department of Agriculture estimates output at 225 million liters this year - only about a 15% increase from nearly a decade earlier. Pilot runs using higher ethanol blends are slated for December, and officials are pushing for investment to expand capacity. Earlier plans called for E10 starting in 2028; officials now aim to step the blend up over time to eventually reach E50, following the biodiesel playbook.
Much of the incremental ethanol will be sourced from sugarcane, despite Indonesia being the world's second-largest importer of sugar. That supply gap underscores how big the scale-up challenge is - and why the land, irrigation and mill upgrades matter for hitting the new fuel targets.
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