Indonesia takes initial steps to green its aviation sector

Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has begun tests on jet fuel mixed with palm oil in the engines of a Boeing aircraft, the first Indonesian commercial airline to trial renewable energy, Garuda said in a statement Aug. 1.

The fuel blend – which contains 2.4% palm oil – is being tested on CFM56-7B engines. Following that, the ground and flight tests will be conducted later in August, Indonesia's energy ministry said.

This came days after the state-owned energy company Pertamina had successfully conducted static tests of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on the same engine type to ensure commercial feasibility, it said in a statement July 29, adding that the next testing phase includes the ground and flight tests.

Pertamina is pushing for SAF to be adopted for commercial flights, after it successfully flew military aircraft type CN 250 using SAF in 2021, it added in the statement.

"As an energy company, Pertamina strives to respond to global challenges by producing green fuel, namely SAF, for the aviation industry in Indonesia," said its corporate communication vice president Fadjar Djoko Santoso.

Pertamina currently produces SAF through co-processing, a method that produces green fuel by processing vegetable oil feedstock and petroleum simultaneously into green hydrocarbon, namely bio aviation fuel, with production carried out at RU IV Cilacap.

SAF development is also part of Pertamina's efforts to help Indonesia meet its 2060 net-zero targets, he added.

"We believe that through this established synergy, we will continue to move forward in developing SAF as a key milestone and Biofuel or Green Energy acceleration in Indonesia," he said.

Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, has been looking to expand the use of vegetable oils in fuels and rolled out B35 biodiesel blending mandate earlier this year.

Indonesia's flight capacity was 10.5 million seats in July, making it the country with the largest capacity in Southeast Asia, making up 28% of the region's total seats, aviation data company OAG's figures showed.