July 8, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Indicative of decarbonization’s role in tackling climate change, HutanBio announced it has expanded its Seed funding to £3 million (US$3.84 million) with additional funding committed by UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S).

This development follows the company’s announcement in February of this year that Clean Growth Fund, a leading UK cleantech venture capital fund, had invested £2.25 million (US$2.84 million) to back its technology. 

“We are delighted to have secured funding from UK12S,” said Paul Beastall, CEO, HuntaBio. “This investment is not just a financial boost, but a strong vote of confidence in our mission to harness advanced biology to produce low carbon fuels. Bolstered by this additional investment, we can accelerate our strategic growth plans and bring our innovative solutions to market quicker.“

Founded by scientists from Cambridge University and in Malaysia, biotech company HutanBio has a mission to disrupt the biofuels industry through the commercialization of HBx, its carbon-negative biofuel designed to serve the transition to net zero in the marine and heavy transport sectors. 

Two of the most pressing factors being faced by various other crop-based biofuels is how they compete with agricultural food production and their use of natural resources. Conversely, the production of HBx uses no fresh water, and has been designed to thrive in brackish to very salty environments. It also is not a driver of deforestation or the destruction of peatland. Rather, the company noted that it can bring life to barren desert regions, adding to the planet’s photosynthesis activity while it scales up to remove millions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. 

Developed by John Archer Ph.D. from Cambridge University, who is now the company’s chief scientific officer; Noor Azlin Mokhtar Ph.D., originally a Ph.D. student at Cambridge working with Dr. Archer who is now the company’s director of operations; and Suhaiza Jamhor, a Masters graduate in biotechnology from Universiti Selangor in Malaysia, HutanBio’s HBx bio-oil is a sustainable, high-energy density, low-carbon, sulfur-free fuel solution that uses CO2 greenhouse gas as a feedstock for algae grown in custom bioreactor farms created by HutanBio. 

These farms are controlled by AI to optimize yields, and will be built on unproductive, non-agricultural and semi-arid and arid land in countries with high-intensity sunlight. Indeed, considering that the system uses CO2 as a feedstock, the company envisions locating some of its farms adjacent to high CO2 emitting heavy industrial sites, such as cement facilities.

HutanBio would then be in the position to offer these industries a ready-made, circular carbon capture-and-use solution that would allow the HBx biofuel to be used by their operations. With six locations already identified, the company noted that it intends to have several customer sites online by 2027, and to have at least two mega-sites operating by 2030. 

However, the company didn’t reach this point overnight. They explained that the development of its HBx fuel oil is the result of 10 years of research and the world’s largest-ever marine microalgae bioprospecting program, resulting in a product that not only addresses a series of social and environmental challenges faced by other biofuels, but utilizes harmful carbon emissions from high-polluting industries. 

“UKI2S is committed to investing in technologies that have a significant positive environmental impact,” said Oliver Sexton, investment director, UKI2S. “HutanBio’s innovative use of biology for low carbon fuel production aligns perfectly with our vision. We believe in its mission to make sustainable fuels and are excited to support its efforts in the battle against climate change.”

With a strong foundation in place, HuntaBio stated that its HBx Biofuel is positioned to help bridge what it terms the Maritime Regulatory Canyon. Net Zero 2050 models project a combined aviation and maritime biofuel demand of 37 million tons by 2030. Importantly, this demand cannot be met by waste feedstock streams alone, and would seriously compromise food production and freshwater resources. And as maritime regulations designed to further drive decarbonization come into force, the availability of low-carbon fuels will be pivotal, leading to HuntaBio bridging the gap. 

“We’re really pleased to see UKI2S joining the round as HutanBio makes great strides, including growing its team of experts,” said Dr. Jonathan Tudor, investor director, HuntaBio.

“The positive impact that HBx can have on today and tomorrow’s world is important. After over a decade of research and development, and with the maritime fuels market committing to stopping the use of fossil fuels by 2050, HutanBio has the potential to be a major disruptor in the fuel supply market and could make a huge contribution to the decarbonisation of transport and the hard-to-abate heavy industries.” 

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

*The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.