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Big car brands to join B30 biofuel test at end of May
Nissan, Toyota, Isuzu and Mitsubishi vehicles will travel about 500 kilometers for a B30 biofuel road test.
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Agriculture Ministry Andi Amran Sulaeman fills a tractor with B100 biodiesel during the trial use of palm oil-based biofuel for farming vehicles on April 15. (JP/ark)
Stakeholders comprising private and state institutions will kick off a maiden road test for vehicles using diesel fuel containing 30 percent palm oil-based biofuel, known as B30 biofuel, at the end of this month.
The road test, which will involve carmakers such as Nissan, Toyota, Isuzu and Mitsubishi, is part of the government’s efforts to increase the blending rate of B20 biofuel currently being sold by state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina to 30 percent by 2020.
According to Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI) executive Paulus Tjakrawan, the association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) has provided at least 10 diesel vehicles from different brands to take part in the trial.
“There will be Nissan, Toyota, Isuzu and Mitsubishi vehicles traveling about 500 kilometers from Lembang in Bandung [West Java] to Guci in Tegal [Central Java]. Each vehicle needs to complete a 40,000 km journey,” he said in a press conference about the B30 update on Thursday.
The route was chosen for its hilly terrain and the cold temperatures of Lembang.
Prior to the road test, Paulus said the related agencies had already started their machine preparation tests, called overhaul, which included a cleaning of the engines and taking photos of engine parts that would be used a “before-and-after comparison”.
