A Croydon tech company has scooped £16m in investment funding to help develop its clean energy technology.

Dearman, which aims to harness "liquid air to deliver zero-emission power and cooling" for uses such as refrigerated lorries, will use the money to expand its research establish a UK manufacturing operation.

The windfall has come from international investment fund Park Vale Capital, and brings Dearman's total investment in the past year to £19.5m.

The company, which was set up in 2011, has its technology centre in Stafford Cross Business Park.

Chief executive Toby Peters said: "To have partnership of this scale, from a company as respected as Park Vale, is a recognition of the potential of our technology, the quality of our team and the rapid progress we have made to date.

"We have a vision to utilise innovative clean cold and power technology to address global environmental challenges, while delivering economic returns for our shareholders and growth in the communities where we operate.

"With the support of all our investors I am confident that we can achieve and even exceed that goal."

Katherine Priestley, managing director of Park Vale, said: "Dearman is an extremely exciting company that is developing unique technology to address a clear global need -­ clean cold.

"Although the applications of Dearman technology will bring demonstrable environmental benefits, it is the fact that they are also commercially attractive and even operationally superior that makes the company so promising."