Sustaianble Times - Profit Meets Purpose

Six years of continuous algae cultivation. Zero crop failures. A world first.In this episode of the Sustainable Times Podcast, we sit down with HutanBio CEO Manshu Agarwal and Founder & Chief Scientific Officer Dr John Archer — the Cambridge-based biotech quietly building one of the most credible answers to the hard-to-abate fuel problem.Where ExxonMobil walked away from algae biofuel and competitors like Viridos spent years on genetically-modified strains, HutanBio took a fundamentally different path. Their proprietary marine microalgae strain, Sphaerica — discovered through a multi-year bioprospecting programme in extreme tropical marine habitats — delivers up to 10x the yield of previous algae and oil crops. No genetic modification. No fresh water. No competition with arable land. Grown on seawater, in desert environments, using only CO₂ and sunlight.The result: HBx Bio Oil — a net-negative carbon biofuel designed for the sectors fossil fuels still own. Maritime. Aviation. Heavy land transport.What we cover:— The two-decade scientific journey from Cambridge and KAUST to commercial deployment— Why the algae biofuel market has failed before, and what HutanBio is doing differently— The Sphaerica discovery and what makes it commercially defensible— Building a high-yield, modular production platform engineered for desert deployment— The £2.25m Clean Growth Fund investment and what scaling looks like next— The IMO 2030 emissions mandate and why maritime is the beachhead market— What investors should understand about the hard-to-abate fuel opportunity in 2026—GUESTSManshu Agarwal — CEO, HutanBiolinkedin.com/in/manshuagarwalDr John Archer — Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, HutanBiolinkedin.com/in/john-archer-b551569Harvey Knight — CEO & Founder, Sustainable Grouplinkedin.com/in/harvey-knight-38aa91a9—ABOUT HUTANBIOFounded in 2019 by Dr John Archer (Cambridge), Dr Noor Azlin Mokhtar, and Suhaiza Jamhor, HutanBio is a UK-based climate biotech developing scalable, net-negative carbon biofuels from proprietary marine microalgae. Manshu Agarwal joined as CEO in late 2025. The company is backed by Clean Growth Fund and based in Cambridge with operations in Malaysia.hutanbio.com—SPONSORED BY SUSTAINABLE WEALTH GROUPSustainable Wealth Group (SWG) connects investors with private market opportunities designed to deliver both financial returns and positive environmental and social impact. With a network of 24,000+ impact-focused investors and a disciplined, ESG-led diligence approach, SWG receives over 1,200 founder applications annually and presents fewer than 1% to its investor community.sustainablewealthgroup.com—ABOUT SUSTAINABLE TIMESSustainable Times is a UK publication and podcast covering sustainable finance, climate-tech, and the founder–investor conversations shaping how capital gets deployed.Find more episodes and written research at sustainabletimes.co.uk—REGULATORY DISCLAIMERThis content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation. The content of this promotion has not been approved by an authorised person within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Sustainable Wealth Group Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.