Indonesian convenience store retail chain Alfamart said this week it has invested $1mn into Singapore-based used cooking oil (UCO) collector Noovoleum.
Noovoleum — established in 2023 — automates UCO collection in Indonesian cities, including in Java, Sumatra and Bali, with their "UCOllect" boxes, of which there are 100.
It collects about 100t of UCO a month, which is sold to domestic buyers such as UCO aggregators, said the company's chief investment officer Egis Rimkus.
Citizens deposit UCO into the boxes, which have an in-built quality testing system. They will then receive cash via the "UCOllect" application, if the quality of the oil is accepted. The rate varies every month and is currently at 5,500 rupiah/litre ($0.34/litre). There are now boxes at 12 Alfamart outlets across Indonesia.
The final use of the UCO is unconfirmed, but some could be processed into biodiesel, market participants said. Indonesia has halted exports of UCO since January.
There have been recent attempts to export refined UCO under a HS code unaffected by the ban, but bulk volume trades have likely still not been successful, traders told Argus.
Noovoleum is in advanced negotiations with possible partners in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore in light of Indonesia's export halt, with at least one partnership to be launched this year, Rimkus added.
Noovoleum also placed "UCOllect" boxes at 10 gas stations belonging to state-owned Indonesian refiner Pertamina last December. This was part of a pilot project between the two.
Pertamina has been trialling sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production since the second quarter of 2025, but large-scale production of SAF and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is expected only in 2029, the refiner said.
