Indonesia, Toyota in talks on potential bioethanol project

JAKARTA, April 20 : Indonesia is in talks with Japan’s Toyota Motor Asia on a potential joint investment in bioethanol production in the Southeast Asian country, a government official and executives from Toyota told reporters on Monday.

Here are some details:

• A renewable energy subsidiary of Indonesia’s state energy firm Pertamina is discussing potential joint investment with Toyota Tsusho for a bioethanol plant in Indonesia’s Lampung province on the southern tip of Sumatra, said Deputy Investment Minister Todotua Pasaribu.

• If they reach a deal, construction on a plant with capacity of 60,000 kilolitres of bioethanol per annum could start in the second half of 2026, with production eyed in 2028, he said.

• A new 6,000-hectare (around 14,800 acres) sorghum plantation will produce the feedstock, Pasaribu said.

• The estimated total cost of the investment is $200 million-$300 million, he said.

• Japan’s Research Association of Biomass Innovation for Next Generation Automobile Fuels (raBit) is involved in the talks, Pasaribu said.

• Speaking alongside Pasaribu, Masahiko Maeda, Toyota Motor Asia’s chief executive for the Asia region, said Toyota vehicles could use the bioethanol produced in the Lampung plant.

• Pras Ganesh, an executive vice president of Toyota Motor Asia, told Reuters on the sidelines of the press conference that discussions were still underway and a deal has not been reached.

• Indonesia has set a target to produce bioethanol using domestically available sources such as biomass from palm oil, corn and sorghum to reduce its reliance on imported fuels.

• The country plans to impose mandatory 10 per cent bioethanol content in gasoline in 2028.