According to the Telegraph, the British company that aims to revolutionise smartphones by replacing batteries with hydrogen fuel cells seems to have been saved, thanks to a £30m loan from its biggest investor. The money comes from Mediator, the hedge fund from Singaporean tycoon Talal Shakerchi.

The deal was arranged as Intelligent Energy came dangerously close to running out of money.

The company said: “Without the fundraising it is likely that the company would no longer have been a going concern and that the board therefore would have had little option other than to place the company into administration.”

Intelligent Energy had been pursuing a three-pronged strategy to become a key player in a new global hydrogen industry. It owns key intellectual property for systems that convert hydrogen onto electrical power and water, and ambitiously aimed to be at the forefront of moves to replace petrol and diesel engines in cars and trucks.

However, it has slashed costs in recent months, including cutting 200 jobs, and has pulled back from the automotive industry.

Intelligent Energy will now focus on its two remaining hydrogen fuel cell markets : portable generators and fuel cells to replace batteries in smartphones.