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Power Drives Increase In Electric Cars

25 June 2010

Owning and running an electric car isn’t such a long way down the road, following, new European funding secured by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). 

The funding supports five new low carbon technology projects, including one that will increase introduction of electric cars to the market.

The E-Mob Accelerator project is grant funded through POWER, a European-wide programme aimed at creating low carbon economies.  The project aims to increase the uptake of electric transport by encouraging partnerships to work together; helping provide more charging points across the South East, and standardised design across the car industry.

The South East England partner is Oxford Brookes University, an authority on sustainable vehicles and research into drivers’ expectations and experiences of ultra low carbon cars.

Professor Allan Hutchinson, Head of the Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre at Oxford Brookes’ School of Technology, adds: “The POWER programme provides much needed support for business. It will expedite the successful market implementation of electric vehicles and help develop sustainable business cases in the South East. We are pleased with the opportunity to work with our European partners and to be able to share best practice on projects that capture the public’s enthusiasm.”

The five projects from the POWER programme fall under the themes of energy efficiency, renewable energy, eco-innovation and environmental technologies, and sustainable transport and draw on low carbon innovation and technology in order to develop sustainable economies. The objectives are to improve the effectiveness of regional development policies through the exchange of knowledge and best practice.

The POWER programme brings collaboration across seven European regions, with the South East of England working with Estonia, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden. It is led by SEEDA and partly funded through INTERREG IVC.

Rob Douglas, SEEDA Chairman, comments: “SEEDA is committed to ensuring that the projects leave a lasting economic legacy and pave the way for a sustainable economic future. Sharing best practice with other European regions, through the Power programme, will ensure that the South East maintains and develops its position as a globally competitive region.”

The programme runs until 2012 and is supported by the Environment Agency.

For more information on the Power programme’s new projects please visit www.powerprogramme.eu. For more information on SEEDA please visit www.seeda.co.uk.

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