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Govt conducts first biofuel-powered flight test on commercial plane
Following a successful static test in late July, the government has conducted its first flight test for BAF created in cooperation with the Bandung Institute of Technology and produced by Pertamina.
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Workers clean a Garuda Indonesia's Boeing 737-800 NG aeroplane at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia, at Soekarno-Hatta International airport near Jakarta, Indonesia, January 21, 2022. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
T
he government conducted its first flight test for bio-aviation fuel (BAF) on Wednesday using a commercial Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.
The BAF used in the test was developed in cooperation with the Bandung Institute of Technology and produced at the Cilacap refinery of state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina in Central Java.
The fuel contained 2.4 percent processed palm kernel oil, which differs from regular palm oil in that it is extracted from palm seed and has a higher content of saturated fat.
The flight test followed a successful static test on the same aircraft’s engines on July 26.
Teguh Jalu Waskito, who heads the Transportion Ministry’s aircraft certification subdirectorate, said the purpose of the static test was to determine whether the aircraft’s engines were suitable for using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), referring to a broader category that includes BAF.
"It is hoped that in the future, this type of SAF will be mass produced in order to facilitate the implementation of Indonesia's ecologically friendly and sustainable SAF,” Teguh said in a statement on Thursday.
“We expect that Indonesia will be able to contribute to the global supply of SAF in order to minimize carbon emissions from aviation activities," he said.
