HutanBio's Microalgal Biofuel Production Shown to be Net-Negative in an Independent Life Cycle Assessment by EcoAct

May 09, 2025

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(AltEnergyMag.com) A new independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by EcoAct (a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider Electric Sustainability Business) confirms that HBx, a microalgal biofuel developed by UK-based HutanBio, achieves net-negative carbon emissions during production. HBx production removes up to 1.48 tonnes of CO₂e per tonne of biofuel produced across sites in Morocco, the Middle East, and Western Australia.

London, United Kingdom, May 8, 2025 - HutanBio, a pioneering UK-based climate technology company, today announced that the production process for its proprietary HBx microalgal biofuel achieves net-negative carbon emissions, based on an independent cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by EcoAct, a leading international sustainability consultancy and a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider Electric Sustainability Business. The assessment offers robust third-party validation of HBx's carbon removal potential and adds new momentum to the development of credible low-carbon fuel solutions.

HutanBio's proprietary microalgal system naturally captures and sequesters carbon, achieving a net uptake of -5.78 tCO₂e per tonne of HBx produced. The LCA found that HBx production removes up to 1.48 tonnes of CO₂e per tonne of biofuel produced across all three planned production sites: Morocco, the Middle East, and Western Australia. The LCA addressed all production stages - including raw material inputs, inbound transport, production and refinery processes, and waste handling, offering a transparent carbon accounting methodology rarely seen in the biofuels sector. While downstream use-phase emissions are not included in the system boundary, the results clearly show that the production process alone contributes a net-negative carbon impact. The assessment was conducted in alignment with ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2020, providing robust independent analysis of HutanBio's technology and methodology.

HBx is derived from a newly discovered marine microalgae cultivated in seawater on non-arable land using HutanBio's proprietary enclosed photobioreactor technology. It does not compete with food crops or freshwater resources and is designed to power hard-to-abate transport sectors.

"The biofuels industry has long struggled with inconsistent reporting and opaque sustainability claims," said Paul Beastall, CEO of HutanBio. "By following ISO standards and publishing these results, we are not only validating our own process but helping to set a new benchmark for industry transparency. These results mark a significant milestone in the development of science-backed, scalable low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels."

Among the three regions assessed, Morocco delivered the lowest emissions due to favourable sourcing, energy availability, and shorter logistics chains. The study also found that switching to renewable electricity in HBx production can reduce production emissions by up to 5.6 times compared to fossil-based energy.

"Many producers focus solely on the theoretical carbon benefits of their fuel while obscuring the significant emissions from their production processes," said James Ibberson, Chief Technical Officer at HutanBio. "Our approach is to measure everything, optimise what we can, and be completely transparent about the results."

"The LCA is the gold standard for quantifying environmental impact across a product's journey," added Stuart Lemmon, CEO of EcoAct and Global Head of Practices, Sustainability, at Schneider Electric Sustainability Business. "What sets HutanBio apart is not just their willingness to undergo this rigorous process, but the remarkable results achieved. Their net-negative carbon profile represents exactly the kind of breakthrough innovation needed in hard-to-abate sectors. By embracing this level of scientific scrutiny and transparency, HutanBio is establishing a new benchmark for the entire biofuels industry to aspire to."

HutanBio plans to begin construction of a commercial pilot facility in Q1 2026 and is actively seeking strategic partnerships with transportation leaders and investors committed to climate action.

About HutanBio

HutanBio is a technology company focused on transforming the future of long-distance transportation with HBx, a zero-carbon biofuel designed for a sustainable future. Our mission is to rapidly decarbonise these sectors, quickly, cost effectively and with minimal disruption by harnessing the power of a 2-billion-year-old ancient organism. A new-to-science marine microalgae with unmatched productivity that outperforms legacy algal strains by an order of magnitude.

Using our proprietary cultivation platform, we grow fuel using CO2 and sunlight, in seawater on unproductive non-agricultural land to deliver a scalable, sustainable and cost effective zero carbon fuel that works with existing infrastructure to provide immediate carbon savings for the marine, aviation and heavy land transport sectors. Founded by John Archer PhD, Noor Azlin Mokhtar PhD and Suhaiza Jamhor in 2019, world class scientists with expertise in Microbial Genetics and Genomics.  Learn more www.hutanbio.com

About EcoAct  

EcoAct, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider Electric, is an international climate and sustainability consultancy and carbon offsetting project developer. Founded in France in 2006, we now have a team of over 400 climate experts worldwide working with a shared purpose: to make a difference. We partner with organisations around the world to implement innovative solutions and positive change in response to climate and sustainability challenges whilst also driving commercial performance.  EcoAct is a CDP Gold Partner, a founding member of ICROA, a strategic partner in the implementation of the Gold Standard for the Global Goals and reports to the UN Global Compact.    

In 2023, EcoAct became part of Schneider Electric, bringing together Schneider Electric's global leadership in sustainability and energy management with our expertise in sustainability consulting and carbon strategy. This integration enhances our ability to deliver end-to-end decarbonization solutions, helping businesses navigate climate risk, regulatory compliance, and the path to net-zero. 
Learn more: www.eco-act.com 

About Schneider Electric   
Schneider's purpose is to create Impact by empowering all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. At Schneider, we call this Life Is On.    Our mission is to be the trusted partner in Sustainability and Efficiency.  
   
We are a global industrial technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitization to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by our deep domain expertise, we provide integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software and services, delivering digital twins to enable profitable growth for our customers.   
   
We are a people company with an ecosystem of 150,000 colleagues and more than a million partners operating in over 100 countries to ensure proximity to our customers and stakeholders. We embrace diversity and inclusion in everything we do, guided by our meaningful purpose of a sustainable future for all.   Learn more www.se.com READ MORE

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We sit down with key speaker Brittany Hook, to discuss algae-based biofuels (Biofuels International Conference)
UK Startup IDs A New Hope For Algae Biofuel: Carbon-Negative Production (Clean Technica)

Excerpt from Biofuels International Conference: At HutanBio, we took a radically different approach compared to previous attempts.

Instead of relying on existing microalgae strains stored in global libraries, we started from first principles - identifying the key characteristics needed for successful large-scale microalgae production and searching for an organism that met these criteria.

This was no small feat — it took a decade of research and the screening of over a trillion colonies, ultimately leading to a ground-breaking, new-to-science discovery that now forms a core part of our intellectual property.

To ensure our technology does not compete with agriculture, we have strategically focused on leveraging coastal desert regions.

By utilising unproductive land and seawater, we avoid conflicts over arable land and freshwater resources, making our approach both sustainable and scalable.

...

Given their "drop-in" compatibility with existing infrastructure and lower transition risks, biofuels are poised to be a leading solution in the push toward net-zero emissions.

We will discuss how HutanBio's HBx Biofuel fits into this transition, providing an overview of our technology, the timeline for deployment and the broader industry implications. READ MORE

Excerpt from Clean Technica:

CleanTechnica began tracking the algae biofuel industry during the Obama administration, and the hopes were high. Microalgae can be cultivated without infringing on land for crops, which is a big selling point. The potential for reducing fertilizers and pesticides is another part of the pitch. In addition, microalgae can be cultivated in seawater, eliminating freshwater conflicts.

The US Department of Defense even got on board, supporting algae R&D along with other non-fossil resources in its alternative fuels program. The bloom soon fell off the algae biofuel rose, though, as commercial production proved elusive. Somewhat ironically, ExxonMobil had been supporting early-stage research, but it ended up dropping out in 2023.

The company should have stuck around. By 2023, researchers and private sector stakeholders were exploring the use of microalgae as a natural carbon sink, adding value to the biofuel balance sheet. In addition, fuel is just one, temporary opportunity for algae-driven carbon capture and recycling. Plastics and other more long-lasting forms of carbon sequestration are also in the mix.

A Breakthrough For Algae Biofuel

Sure enough, cleantech investors were beginning to sit up and take notice. HutanBio came to the attention of the UK venture capital investor Clean Growth Fund last year. The firm dropped an investment of £2.25 million (just a hair under $3 million USD) on HutanBio in January of 2024, about one year after ExxonMobil dropped the algae biofuel ball.

“After a decade of research and development in the UK and around the world, HutanBio, a bio-tech company founded by scientists from Cambridge University, based in Cambridge (UK) and in Malaysia, has secured investment from Clean Growth Fund to accelerate the commercial use of its HBx bio-fuel oil to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Clean Growth Fund summarized in a press statement.

HutanBio has targeted the maritime fuels industry from the outset, culling through a trillion samples in an effort described as the “world’s largest ever marine microalgae bioprospecting programme.” The shipping industry is a ripe target for alternative fuels because it is under a mandate from the International Maritime Organization to reduce CO₂ emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared to a 2008 baseline. The ultimate IMO goal is to zero out fossil fuels entirely by 2050. READ MORE