Insider Media Limited

A Shropshire-based developer has raised £500,000 in a recent funding round from members of the Oxford Investment Opportunity Network (OION). Bladon Jets, which specialises in developing micro gas turbine engines for cars, will use the funding to continue its research into low-carbon vehicle technology.

Bladon Jets is working with car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover on the development of a micro gas turbine engine to operate in a plug-in hybrid car.

Bladon Jets micro gas turbines are ideally suited for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The batteries in these vehicles will typically provide more than 50 miles of electric range, and have the capability to travel longer distances when using an on-board power generator to charge the batteries.

Bladon Jets finance director, Gary Lamb, said: “The problem with electric cars is their range. You can only drive 50 or 100 miles before having to stop and charge the batteries. To solve this you need to have an alternative power source. Traditional piston-driven car engines as used in many current generation hybrids are heavy and can only operate using a single type of fuel - petrol or diesel.

"By comparison, gas turbine engines are very light - 3kg compared to over 100kg for a piston engine – and have only 5 per cent of the number of parts making them simpler to produce and maintain.”

Commenting on the fundraising process, Lamb said: “We were delighted to work with OION and appreciate the effort from everyone involved. The process of preparing for the funding was straightforward and effective.”

Indian car giant, and owner of JLR, Tata Motors announced earlier this year that it would invest in Bladon Jets for a minority shareholding.