Indonesian Electricity | Prof. Dr. Eng, Eniya Listiani Dewi, B.Eng., M.Eng., IPU., Main Expert Researcher, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) officially assumed the position of Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (Dirjen EBTKE), Directorate General of EBTKE, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia on 14 March. The woman born in Magelang, Central Java, who is familiarly called Prof Eniya, was appointed by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif, at the Chairul Saleh Building, Office of the Secretariat General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jakarta.

After being appointed Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Eniya said that her task was to boost the mix of EBT in the country, which could be said to be still far from the target. “Well, the Minister specifically conveyed several things, especially boosting the energy mix, where EBT has not yet reached the target,” said Eniya when met at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. In addition to the renewable mix, she is also tasked with accelerating the formulation of the Draft Law on New and Renewable Energy (RUU EBET). So far, the bill is still being discussed because there are still several points that are deemed to need further discussion, one of which is related to power wheeling. “And several things regarding, for example the issue of electric vehicles and so on, he also has directions for the conversion to be accelerated,” said Eniya.

EBTKE Heroine Figure

Eniya is a Principal Expert Researcher, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and is one of the ranks of scientists who have made Indonesia famous internationally because of their service and contributions which are beneficial to the development and progress of science and technology. The holder of a Doctor of Engineering degree from Tokyo’s Waseda University has successfully engineered an environmentally friendly fuel cell to produce electricity from hydrogen gas . This discovery is so vital in world scientific discourse, it is not surprising that Eniya has received many awards both at national and international levels.

The fuel cell developed by Eniya is an electronic cell, a kind of battery, which can convert fuel sources such as hydrogen and/or hydrocarbons into direct electric current. These cells have the potential to be used as an environmentally friendly energy source for various sectors of life including household needs and various industrial needs such as automotive, convection, food processing and so on. However, the hard work and scientific devotion of the woman born June 14 1974, did not stop with fuel cells. In 2003, this mother of three children received the Mizuo Award and Koukenkai Award from Waseda University thanks to the discovery of a fuel catalyst made from the element vanadium. Apart from these two awards, Eniya’s other scientific work, the method for adding nanoparticles, also won a prestigious award, the Asia Excellence Award, which was awarded by the Society of Polymer Science, Japan.

Various Achievement Appreciation

For her dedication, perseverance, hard work and various scientific discoveries that have been made by women who have been born and have been recognized internationally, it is truly worthy that this woman of Javanese descent received the Habibie Award in 2010 and managed to record herself as the youngest woman in history to receive this rare award. 

And it wouldn’t be Eniya if no matter how high an award would stop his scientific service to the nation and the international world. The proof is that in the same year Eniyai won the Habibie Award, another latest invention, Thamrion (taken from a combination of the words Thamrin, the location where Dewi works, and Ion, a polymer membrane for fuel cells that is more efficient and able to compete in terms of price in the market ), succeeded in obtaining a patent. 

Not just a patent letter, for this brilliant achievement, Eniya has the right to take home the 2010 IPR Innovation Award given by the Indonesian Directorate General of IPR. Experience as a scientist and researcher for environmentally friendly fuel cell engineering led to a career path to the position of Director General of EBTKE, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia  .

Furthermore, Eniya said that there was a need to increase the role of EBT in several regions of Indonesia. In this way, steps that need to be taken to increase the mix of EBT in the country are the need to diversify the use of EBT. “This is perhaps the diversification of energy use that we must encourage to enable NRE investment to be even higher,” concluded Eniya.