Pertamina Announces First RD Lifting for Jakarta E-Prix Generator Supply

Jakarta — On 1 June 2022, Pertamina announced an agreement to supply Pertamina Renewable Diesel (RD) for generators intended to provide electricity for electric-vehicle charging at the Jakarta E-Prix, scheduled for 4 June. The company described the arrangement as a milestone for the first lifting of its RD after Phase 1 of the Cilacap Biorefinery project was completed in January 2022. The announcement preceded the race; it should not be read as evidence of fuel consumption on race day.

Supply agreement for charging generators

Reports published by CNBC Indonesia and Suara.com on 1 June said the supply agreement brought together PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI), PT Pertamina Patra Niaga (PPN) and PT Jakarta Propertindo. The named signatories were KPI president director Taufik Aditiyawarman, PPN president director Alfian Nasution and Jakarta Propertindo business support director Muhammad Taufiqurrahman. The planned supply was for generator sets producing electricity to charge electric vehicles during the event, not for fuel to power the racing cars themselves.

According to the reports, Pertamina saw the E-Prix as an opportunity to introduce RD more widely. Taufik expressed hope that the supply arrangement would provide a model for developing a green-diesel market. That was the company's stated ambition at the time, not evidence of subsequent market growth. Neither report gave a delivered volume or measured generator consumption for race day.

Cilacap's HVO production and first lifting

The product described in the coverage is hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a renewable diesel made by processing vegetable feedstock with hydrogen. The two outlets reported that the Cilacap Biorefinery had green-diesel production capacity of 3,000 barrels per day from vegetable feedstock. That figure describes the reported facility capacity; it is not a quantity earmarked for Jakarta E-Prix. They also cited 1,000 barrels per day of possible HVO production at the Dumai Biorefinery, which likewise does not establish a volume for the race.

The reports linked Pertamina RD's first lifting to the January 2022 completion of Cilacap Biorefinery Phase 1. In this context, lifting denotes taking or moving product into the supply chain. The contemporary evidence establishes what the company announced about its first lifting and supply arrangement. It does not independently establish how much RD arrived at the venue or whether it was consumed by generators on 4 June.

Renewable diesel is not B30 biodiesel

HVO should not be confused with fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), the biodiesel component blended into conventional diesel under Indonesia's B30 programme at the time. Both can originate from vegetable material, but they are distinct products made through different processes. The Pertamina RD agreement concerned planned HVO supply for generators; it did not say racing EVs ran on biodiesel or that the generators used a B30 blend.

Both news outlets reported that Pertamina RD had obtained ISCC certification. Suara.com additionally reported Pertamina's statement that an HVO trading permit had been issued with support from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources' Directorate General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation. Those statements provide context for commercial readiness, but certification or a permit alone cannot quantify emissions savings at the event. Assessing an actual climate impact would require feedstock, supply-chain, calculation-method and consumption data that the two announcement-day reports did not provide.

The archival significance of 1 June 2022, therefore, lies in the signed supply arrangement and the announced first lifting following Cilacap Phase 1. The outcome of the planned use on 4 June cannot be inferred solely from a pre-race announcement.