Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia tests palm oil-blended jet fuel

Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia said on Tuesday it is testing jet fuel mixed with palm oil in the engines of one of its Boeing aircraft, amid efforts to cut emissions in the aviation sector.

Indonesia, the world' biggest producer of palm oil, is keen to expand use of the vegetable oil in fuels to slash imports of expensive fossil fuels. This year, it rolled out the use of biodiesel containing 35 per cent palm oil, the highest mandatory mix in the world, up from 30 per cent last year.

Garuda said in a statement the jet fuel, which contains 2.4 per cent palm oil, is being tested on CFM56-7B engines of a B737-800 NG aircraft. It added the test was launched last week. "This initiation is our first step to support a green and sustainable economy, and make us a pioneer as the first commercial airline in Indonesia to carry out trials of renewable energy," Garuda chief executive Irfan Setiaputra said in the statement.

The engine test will be followed by ground and flight tests later in August, the energy ministry said.

The country in 2021 ran a flight test with the same fuel on an aircraft made by state-owned Dirgantara Indonesia, which flew from the city Bandung in West Java to the capital Jakarta.