by Trevor Sturgess

A pioneering firm has been granted £200,000 to develop a product that cuts fuel consumption in cars.

Oil Drum, based in Canterbury and Sittingbourne, has already won UK and international acclaim for its Save-Fuel On Demand Hydrogen Generator, which is retrofitted to trucks and saves hauliers around 10 per cent in fuel costs.

The product has been embraced by several companies and Oil Drum has signed international licensing deals.

Now the firm - backed by the University of Kent - has secured £200,000 from the Government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme to take the ground-breaking idea to the car market

HSBC’s Gatwick and West Kent Commercial Banking team supported the bid that will enable Oil Drum to carry out extensive research and development on an idea that will be welcomed by car drivers worried at the escalating cost of petrol and diesel.

Oil Drum managing director Darryl Watts said: “Our first Save-Fuel product sold very quickly, and we didn’t want to stand still. We were determined to make sure that the business continues to move forward at the pace we want it to.

“Obviously the cost of prototyping and development is huge and the £200,000 we have had approved under the EFG scheme means we can make the investment we need to move to the next stage. We hope that our next product prototype will be ready by early 2010.”

Iain Hawthorn, HSBC deputy area commercial director, Gatwick and West Kent Area, added: “The Government’s EFG scheme offers help to small and medium sized businesses, giving them the financial support they need to thrive in a difficult economic climate. We are delighted to have been able to enable our customer to secure this finance.

“Oil Drum is prime example of the sort of business that can benefit from the EFG scheme; with a great product, untapped markets and an enthusiastic and entrepreneurial management team.”