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Funding, research hamper Indonesia's seaweed potential for biofuel
As the world's largest seaweed exporter, the commodity has the potential to help Indonesia achieve net zero target, but challenges on funding and research stand in the way.
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A farming family cleans harvested seaweed on Sept. 25, 2020 in Nusa Lembongan, Bali. (Reuters/Nyimas Laula)
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ndonesia, the world’s largest seaweed exporter, is considering the commodity’s use in producing bio-crude to help reduce the country’s reliance on costly imported crude. Though the potential for seaweed-based biofuel is huge, much still needs to be done to turn the idea into reality.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said on Jan. 19 that seaweed-based biofuel could compete with the cost of other biomass, such as corn, sugarcane and cassava, which required a vast amount of land for cultivation.
Seaweed is more sustainable than other plants used to make biofuel, according to a joint study by researchers from state-run Diponegoro University and South Korea’s Pukyong National University, so it is considerably more preferable in pursuing the country’s net zero agenda.
Indonesia is aiming to produce biofuels to significantly reduce its imports of costly fossil fuels, including crude oil, the ministry has reiterated on many occasions.
Energy minister Arifin Tasrif said he was open to the idea of using seaweed to produce biofuel, but the government would need to study this further to gain a better understanding of its feasibility and potential costs as well as ways to address the financing challenges.
“We think innovation has to be more intense and the [research] funds has to be more available, and then the market should be opened by regulations and [actual] demand,” Arifin said on Jan. 19 at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland.
Read also: Diverse, sustainable biofuels crucial for Indonesia’s energy transition
