Antara News·Indonesia·Monday, September 14, 2026 at 01:12 PM

Govt builds bioethanol center in Lampung to bolster energy security

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Ruth Intan Sozometa Kanafi, Yashinta Difa

Bandarlampung, Lampung (ANTARA) - Indonesia took a major step toward strengthening its energy security and accelerating its green transition by launching a new bioethanol development center in Tegineneng, Pesawaran Regency, Lampung.

The initiative, designed to integrate agriculture, technology, and renewable energy investment, supports President Prabowo Subianto's Asta Cita national agenda by tapping into local crops, specifically sorghum, to reduce the country's reliance on imported fossil fuels.

"Today, we are discussing energy security, downstreaming, energy transition or the energy mix, and economic resilience. In the context of bioethanol or biodiesel, our country holds immense potential," Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming Todotua Pasaribu said in a statement on Monday.

According to Todotua, a key factor driving the development is the current national gasoline consumption of 36 million kiloliters per year, making the development of ethanol essential.

Todotua noted that research and insights from the Japanese automotive industry had identified sorghum as a highly viable and cost-effective feedstock for bioethanol production.

The Lampung center will explore both first-generation (1G) and second-generation (2G) sorghum processing technologies, alongside the downstreaming of cassava and corn.

The project was initiated with three simultaneous milestones: the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) among key partners, a symbolic sorghum planting ceremony, and the start of work on an initial 10-hectare plot, part of a planned 20-hectare complex in Masgar, Tegineneng.

With a targeted local capacity of 430,000 kiloliters, the project aims to establish an integrated supply chain linking local farmers to state energy assets and global industrial players.

Key strategies include reactivating existing processing assets, partnering with state-owned plantation company PTPN, and converting traditional plants for biofuel production.

The multi-stakeholder coalition behind the bioethanol ecosystem includes the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming, the Lampung Provincial Government, PT Pertamina New and Renewable Energy (PNRE), PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) and PT Toyota Tsusho Indonesia (TTI).

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