Ceres Power announced its fuel cell exceeded global industry standards after thousands of hours of tests.
The fuel cell ? which is the size of an After Eight mint ? fits into a domestic central heating boiler instead of a pilot light, transforming boilers into mini-generators that produce both heat and electricity.
The cell would provide homes with a clean and cheap form of energy that produces significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions than conventional fossil fuels.
Ceres, which was spun out of Imperial College London and floated on AIM last year, has been working on the fuel cell for more than 15 years. It can be powered by natural gas as well as hydrogen and does not need platinum as a catalyst.
The company, which has a stock market value of about 53 million, believes the first fuel cell boilers will be on sale in about three years, at prices similar to existing boilers.
The system will create CO2 savings of 30 to 50 per cent, even allowing for some CO2 being produced by the fuel cell running on natural gas.
Ceres is developing cells to power other applications. These include devices for rural communities that rely on bottled gas; auxiliary power units for electrical devices used in lorries and planes; and unbreakable power supplies for hospitals and banks.
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