Kenya Advances Biofuel Blending to Strengthen Energy Security

Kenya is moving forward with implementing the Energy (Biofuels) Regulations, 2025, which will support the phased rollout of locally produced biofuel blends across the country’s fuel supply chain.

 

As part of the implementation process, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) convened a high-level stakeholder consultation that brought together regulators, oil marketing companies, ethanol producers, manufacturers, logistics entities, and other industry participants.

 

The discussions focused  on sector preparedness, infrastructure needs, implementation priorities, and the operationalisation of Kenya’s biofuels blending framework.

The regulations set the framework for blending local biofuels with petroleum through phased E5 and E10 introductions (E5 has 5% bioethanol, E10 has 10% bioethanol).

 

Gazetted in December 2025, the Energy (Biofuels) Regulations, 2025, cover biofuel production, licensing, blending, transportation, storage, distribution, and sales. The rollout comes at a time when countries are reassessing their energy security and fuel resilience amid ongoing global oil market volatility and geopolitical disruptions.

 

Bioethanol is produced from feedstocks such as sugarcane molasses, cassava, maize, and sorghum through fermentation and distillation, while biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils, waste cooking oil, and other organic materials via chemical processing.

 

Bioethanol and biodiesel can also be further processed to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which is increasingly being adopted globally as part of efforts to decarbonise the aviation sector.

 

Governments worldwide promote biofuels to boost energy resilience, reduce oil dependence, support agriculture, diversify fuel sources, and lower transport emissions. Countries such as Brazil, India, the US, Thailand, and South Africa have expanded biofuel blending.

 

Kenya aims to use local feedstocks to support a similar shift, creating economic opportunities across agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, and renewable energy.

Speaking during the stakeholder consultation, Dr. Eng. Joseph Oketch, Acting Director General of EPRA, said, “The Biofuels Regulations provide Kenya with an important opportunity to strengthen energy security while building new local industries around agriculture, manufacturing, and renewable energy.

 

As we scale domestic bioethanol production and structured blending, we can gradually reduce exposure to external fuel shocks while creating new opportunities for farmers, investors, manufacturers, and other players across the value chain.”

Eng. Isaac Kiva, Secretary for Renewable Energy in the State Department for Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, noted that the Government remains committed to creating an enabling environment that supports long-term sector growth and investment.

“Kenya’s ethanol plants can process 83 million litres a year, yet we currently produce only 26.5 million litres. Scaling domestic bioethanol production will be important not only for supporting cleaner transport fuels, but also for expanding clean cooking solutions, strengthening local industry, and reducing costly fuel imports.”

Beyond energy security, stakeholders noted that the regulations could unlock significant economic opportunities across agriculture, agro-processing, logistics, transport, manufacturing, and rural economies.

 

The blending programme is expected to create new markets for agricultural feedstocks, stimulate investment in local processing capacity, strengthen domestic value chains, and support the growth of green industries and jobs.

Stakeholders highlighted the need for ongoing coordination among government agencies, ethanol producers, oil marketing firms, investors, logistics providers, and standards organisations to guarantee the effective rollout of the blending program and the sector’s long-term sustainability.