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Indonesia begins B40 biodiesel trial to power trains
The goverment and state-owned railway operator KAI have kicked off a nearly two-month trial of B40 biodiesel in trains, starting with the Bogowonto train connecting Jakarta and Yogyakarta.
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Passengers wait for an intercity train at Pasar Senen railway station in Central Jakarta on Dec. 6, 2023. State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) adds 84 train trips for the Christmas and New Year holidays between Dec. 21, 2023 and Jan. 7, 2024. (Antara/Cahya Sari)
T
he Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, in cooperation with state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), kicked off on Monday a trial of 40 percent palm oil biodiesel (B40) to power the Bogowonto train connecting Pasar Senen Station in Central Jakarta and Lempuyangan Station in Yogyakarta.
Eniya Listiani Dewi, the ministry’s renewables director general, said the B40 biofuel trial aimed to test the durability of the train engine and was scheduled to last 1,200 hours, or 50 days.
“Today, we held a launch ceremony for the B40 [trial] in the railway sector,” she said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com, adding that the trial “would be deployed continuously” until its conclusion in December.
She expressed hope that the results of the trial would green-light the biofuel’s use in trains, “because we want B40 to be used soon”.
Indonesia’s biodiesel uses the highest proportion of palm oil in the world, and its B40 program aims to reduce the country’s reliance on imported diesel while ramping up demand for domestically produced vegetable oils.
The Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) estimated on Jan. 31, 2023 that Rp 30.22 trillion (US$1.95 billion) would be needed to subsidize the distribution of biodiesel that year.
Read also: Energy ministry increases biodiesel quota for 2024
