Back to the future

Like a lot of good new ideas, the concept of an electric car is actually a very old one. With its origins in the electric carriage developed by Scottish inventor Robert Anderson in the 1830s, it has a long record – although not one of swift progress.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Jun 2010, 23:37 BST
Updated 1st Jun 2010, 23:37 BST

All that could be about to change, however. Yorkshire's bid to become a regional hub for the next generation of electric cars raises the

exciting possibility that it could be a world leader in green transport.

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The bid, from CO2Sense Yorkshire, an offshoot of the regional

development agency, is timely because Nissan is preparing to begin production of Britain's fist mass-produced all-electric car.

While the number of technological advances still required may prompt some to groan at the "cars of the future" tag, the prospect of a new motoring culture, with 700 electric plug-in sockets in towns and cities across the region, is actually not too far away.

If the 6m bid put together by CO2Sense is successful, it will add another strand, alongside the innovative projects in carbon capture and storage and clean coal already planned, to the green revolution taking place in Yorkshire. Much like the electric car itself, the

transformation is gathering pace.

Related topics:NissanBritain