CMR Fuel Cells, boasting technology to slash fuel cell costs, is raising £10.3 million before an AIM listing on Thursday.

Investec is nominated adviser and broker to CMR, whose placing at 176p should value the company at £36 million. Spun out of technical consultant Generics Group and backed by Carbon Trust and Conduit Ventures, the company claims to have developed 'a new platform approach to the design and operation of fuel cell stacks, which eliminates fuel crossover as a limit on performance'.

CMR argues this has the potential 'to offer substantial reductions' in their size, weight and cost. Targeting the electronics industry, chief executive officer John Halfpenny and his colleagues have chosen to focus initially on developing methanol fuel cell stacks for portable applications.

They contend this sector is likely to be among 'the earliest where fuel cell applications may be adopted on a commercial scale'.