A company hoping to produce the clean fuels of the future is poised to raise £15m on the London Stock Exchange later this month.o Oxford Catalysts will use the money to recruit 25 staff and set up its headquarters on a business park near Oxford possibly at Begbroke.

Chief executive Roy Lipski said: "The nature of our business is to help supply the world with the energy it needs in a cleaner way."

The company was set up to commercialise catalysts developed by Prof Malcolm Green and Dr Tiancun Xiao, of Oxford University, funded by large multinational oil, gas and chemical companies.

One of their catalysts substances which help chemical processes can convert methanol into hydrogen gas for environmentally-friendly fuel cells, while another produces superheated steam at room temperature from a liquid fuel.

A third process patented by the company removes sulphur from conventional fuel, reducing pollution.

Its shares are expected to begin trading on the Alternative Investment Market next week.

Mr Lipski said: "Over the next 18 months, we will be hiring some additional scientists and business development specialists, and move our research out of the laboratory into our own premises."

The scientists' breakthrough was to develop catalysts made from cheap, easily available materials.

The company hopes to sell licences to manufacturers in the petroleum, petrochemicals, fuel cells and biogas industries.

Mr Lipski said the process could also be used by industrial steam-cleaning companies.