anantara is planning to make an entry into ethanol infrastructure development and aims to complete the full investment cycle by 2029 to support the administration’s push for food and energy self-sufficiency.
“This includes building an ethanol factory and [sugarcane] plantations. We hope to complete the investment over the next three years,” the state asset fund’s COO Dony Oskaria said on Friday, as quoted by Kumparan.com.
He added that Danantara would implement investment in the ethanol industry gradually.
Ethanol is produced from molasses, a by-product of sugar production, and thereby requires concurrent expansion of sugarcane cultivation to ensure feedstock supply for the domestic ethanol industry.
According to Dony, developing the country’s ethanol industry could help meet fuel demand, especially since the recent rollout of the government’s 50 percent biodiesel (B50) program and suspension of diesel fuel imports.
The government was expected to pursue a similar strategy to meet domestic gasoline demand, he continued, pointing out some countries had implemented ethanol blending programs that included a 50 percent bioethanol blend (E50), while Indonesia had only started a phased approach initially targeting an E20 blend.
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“To achieve energy self-sufficiency, we also need to think about starting from E20,” Dony said.