What Is B60 Biodiesel? Indonesia's B60 Status, Target and Needs

B60 is a diesel fuel blend of 60% biofuel and 40% fossil diesel. In its standard form the bio component is palm-based biodiesel, or FAME (fatty acid methyl ester), so B60 means 60% FAME plus 40% diesel. In Indonesia, B60 is the planned step after B50. As of 29 October 2026 it is still under study: no ministerial decree mandates it, its composition is not final, and the government's study is due in December 2026.

"B60", "B-60" and "B 60" all mean the same thing. The number after the letter B is always the percentage of biofuel in the blend. Other blend codes are explained in Biodiesel blends B10 to B60 explained.

What is B60 biodiesel?

Every 100 litres of B60 contains 60 litres of bio component and 40 litres of fossil diesel. The B50 now sold at Indonesian fuel stations contains 50 litres of FAME and 50 litres of diesel.

The government is weighing two recipes:

• 60% FAME + 40% diesel. This continues the pattern used from B10 to B50.
• 50% FAME + 10% HVO + 40% diesel. HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) is renewable diesel made by hydrotreating vegetable oils. HVO producer Neste calls it a drop-in replacement for fossil diesel. According to Eniya Listiani Dewi, Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), HVO costs about 1.5–2 times as much as FAME.

B60 status in Indonesia as of October 2026

B60 was on the agenda even before Prabowo Subianto took office. On 14 October 2024, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Prabowo's programme included B50 and B60 and that the government was "calculating" B60, kumparan reported. Since then:

• April 2026. The official biofuel roadmap, ESDM Ministerial Decree 113/2026, scheduled B50 for subsidised (PSO) diesel in 2027 and for all diesel in 2028, then kept B50 through 2030. According to a USDA summary, the roadmap does not include B60. B50 was later brought forward to 1 July 2026.
• 9 July 2026. Launching B50 at the KM 57 rest area in Karawang, President Prabowo said, "Keep going, don't stop at B50; if possible, B60." He asked, "Which month for B60?" According to detikOto, Bahlil replied, "2028."
• 14–15 July 2026. Eniya said the government would not rush to B60 while B50 was still being rolled out. She asked researchers to work out whether B60 could be "50 plus 10" (CNBC Indonesia). Researchers from ITB, BRIN and IPB were asked to join the study (Bloomberg Technoz).
• 2 September 2026. At IndoEBTKE ConEx 2026, Deputy Energy Minister Yuliot Tanjung said B60 would start next year, in line with the President's statement. He added that B60 would cover both subsidised (PSO) and non-subsidised diesel and that CPO supply and the FAME industry had to be ready. Eniya stressed that B60 had not entered formal testing and that the FAME specification still had to be settled. The Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) was asked to study FAME for B60, with results due in December 2026 (ANTARA, Investortrust, AHK Indonesia).
• 3 September 2026. BPDP downstream funding director Mohammad Alfansyah questioned whether enough HVO would be available. He said Pertamina's HVO output was still at research scale and served Pertamina's internal needs (Bloomberg Technoz).
• 14 September 2026. Wilmar said any blend increase beyond B50 would require new production capacity (S&P Global via UkrAgroConsult). Read: Wilmar says B60 needs new biodiesel capacity.
• 9 October 2026. Eddy Martono, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), said B60 could not be implemented in 2027 (Sawit Indonesia). Read: GAPKI on B50, palm oil exports and B60 in 2027.

Bottom line: the official target cited most often is 2027 (Deputy Energy Minister, September 2026), while the Energy Minister has also mentioned 2028. Both are targets, not dates set by regulation. B50 itself was only due to reach every fuel station from 1 October 2026. By September, about 6,050 stations (94%) were selling it, and a full evaluation is scheduled for December 2026. Follow developments in B50 now at all fuel stations as Indonesia studies B60 and the biodiesel mandate data.

What does B60 require?

FAME volume

The Energy Ministry estimates that B50 needs 16.7–18 million kilolitres (kL) of FAME a year, equivalent to 15.2–16.3 million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO). There is no official figure for B60. As a simple editorial calculation: if diesel demand stays the same, raising the bio share from 50% to 60% increases demand by about a fifth, to roughly 20–21.6 million kL of FAME. This is an illustration, not an official projection.

A working paper by Bank Indonesia researchers (WP/05/2025) simulates B60 as needing 21.42 million kL of biodiesel, 25.2 million tonnes of CPO and about 6.3 million hectares of land. These are model results and not an official Bank Indonesia position. See our research brief on the BI working paper.

The 50% FAME + 10% HVO recipe could hold FAME demand at B50 levels, but it would need large volumes of HVO. According to BPDP, that supply does not yet exist.

Production capacity

According to the Energy Ministry (July 2026), Indonesia's installed biodiesel capacity is about 22 million kL a year, running at about 80% utilisation. Even for B50, Eniya said about four more plants were needed, each taking about 1.5 years to build. On that timeline, a plant started in late 2026 would come on stream around 2028. See the biodiesel producer directory, ESDM says Indonesia needs four more biodiesel plants and the Agrinas–Pertamina study of the Bayas FAME plant.

CPO demand and exports

GAPKI projects that palm oil use for biodiesel will rise to 17.4 million tonnes in 2027 if B50 runs for a full year. As a result, it expects exports to fall by about 5 million tonnes to 26.5 million tonnes. If B60 were applied in 2027, GAPKI estimates that CPO demand for biofuel would swell to 21 million tonnes and that exports could drop to 23 million tonnes (Sawit Indonesia). All of these are association projections. GAPKI says buyers in Europe and India are already worried about reduced supply and a shock to world vegetable oil prices. Track the CPO price today.

In the Bank Indonesia working paper's simulation, real GDP falls 0.71% below baseline under B60, compared with 0.54% under B50. The reason is that lost CPO export earnings outweigh the savings on diesel imports.

Funding through the BPDP export levy

BPDP covers the price gap between biodiesel and fossil diesel from palm oil export levies. The CPO levy rose from 10% to 12.5% in March 2026. USDA reports that BPDP's fund balance fell from IDR 36 trillion at the end of 2024 to IDR 18.5 trillion at the end of 2025, because incentive payments exceeded levy collections. The 2026 incentive need is estimated at IDR 32–32.3 trillion (see B50 funding). Editorial analysis: B60 could strain funding from both sides, with more subsidised volume and smaller exports to collect levies from. GAPKI warns against closing any gap by raising the levy, which it says could depress fresh fruit bunch (FFB) prices for farmers.

Technical specifications and engines

Eniya said the main challenge for B60 is the FAME specification. For B50, the government already tightened three B100 quality parameters compared with B40:

• water content: maximum 300 ppm, down from 320 ppm;
• monoglycerides: maximum 0.47% by mass, down from 0.5%;
• oxidation stability: minimum 900 minutes, up from 720 minutes.

According to the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), FAME absorbs water easily and oxidises more readily, and it can form sludge that clogs filters. Its heating value is also lower than that of fossil diesel. These effects grow as the FAME share rises. B60 would therefore need laboratory testing and road tests like those done for B40 and B50, and as of September 2026 those tests had not started.

B40 vs B50 vs B60: comparison

Item	B40	B50	B60
Blend	40% FAME + 60% diesel	50% FAME + 50% diesel	60% bio + 40% diesel; either 60% FAME or 50% FAME + 10% HVO (not final)
Start	January 2025	Mandatory from 1 July 2026 (ESDM Decree 257.K/EK.01/MEM.E/2026); due at all fuel stations from 1 October 2026	No regulation yet. Target: 2027 (Deputy Energy Minister) or 2028 (Energy Minister, 9 July 2026)
Biodiesel volume	2025 allocation: 15.6 million kL; 2025 actual: 14.2 million kL	2026 allocation: 16.7 million kL for 26 producers; need 16.7–18 million kL/year	Not set; BI simulation: 21.42 million kL
Road test	2022 road test	40,000–50,000 km (interim results safe, per ESDM)	No formal testing yet (as of September 2026)

Table sources: Energy Ministry, USDA and Argus Media (B50 allocation).

What does B60 mean for vehicle owners?

For now, nothing changes. The biodiesel blend sold at fuel stations is B50, and no station sells B60. If B60 is ever mandated, the government has typically issued a new specification and road-test results with vehicle makers first, as it did for B40 and B50.

B50-era maintenance habits still apply:

• drain the water separator regularly;
• change fuel filters on the manufacturer's schedule;
• don't store diesel for long periods.

BRIN also advises fleet operators to ask suppliers for test reports. For details, see the B50 guide, Is B50 biodiesel safe for diesel engines? and How to care for your diesel fuel tank and filter.

Frequently asked questions

Is B60 already in force?

No. As of 29 October 2026, B50 is the mandatory blend. B60 is still under study and has no ministerial decree.

When will Indonesia implement B60?

The government's target is 2027, according to the Deputy Energy Minister in September 2026. The Energy Minister has also mentioned 2028. The decision depends on the BPDP study due in December 2026 and on the B50 evaluation that same month. GAPKI considers 2027 unrealistic.

What is the difference between B50 and B60?

B50 contains 50% FAME, while B60 contains 60% biofuel, so the bio share rises by 10 percentage points. If all of it is FAME and diesel demand stays flat, feedstock demand rises by about a fifth. Part of the bio share could also be HVO rather than FAME.

Is B60 the same as 60% HVO?

No. The option under study is 10% HVO on top of 50% FAME. Large volumes of HVO are not yet available in Indonesia.

What about B70 to B100?

These remain aspirations. The Bank Indonesia working paper simulates blends up to B70. Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the President's special envoy for climate and energy, has said he hopes feedstock for B50–B100 will come from degraded land (read more). No regulation covers these blends.