The M4 is poised to have alternative energy refuelling points fitted along its route.
The scheme, which will run from London to Wales and will be extended to the Midlands, is aimed at making hydrogen and electric-powered vehicles a viable alternative to petrol-driven machines.
The plan is set to be announced later today, along with the announcement of the creation of Low Carbon Economic Areas (LCEA) in the UK, where the government will invest money in areas to promote greener transport.
In a separate initiative, business secretary Lord Mandelson has announced a £19 million LCEA package in the Midlands, which he says will help secure 10,000 jobs.
A £19 million funding package for developing low-carbon vehicles will help to secure 10,000 jobs in the Midlands car industry, said Lord Mandelson.
"I want to see the Midlands help the UK to lead the global automotive industry in the transition from conventional to low-carbon vehicle technologies," he said.
"The LCEA will send a clear signal to the global market about the Midlands' strengths in advanced automotive engineering. The move towards a low-carbon economy presents huge opportunities."
Join the debate
Add your comment
Re: M4 takes green motoring lead
Don't get me wrong. I'm fully behind the concept of appropriate government involvement in furthering the use of electric vehicles. However, I don't think that this project is intended to have that effect, and I don't think that it will have that effect. As I say, I think that it's essentially a gift to Mandy's mates. Like yourself, I'm not his greatest supporter, but ironically I think that (on the whole), he has moved from being one of the most cynical politicians to being one of the most genuine politicians. This isn't a political thread so I'll leave that argument there.
It seems to be pretty-well universally agreed that if we are to reduce our emissions and improve our fuel efficiency, we need to boost the uptake of electric cars, and develop the infrastructure for recharging. To that end, the M4 project may be a step in the right direction, but I think that it's a step that should have been taken later rather than sooner.
I expect that other forum members will be able to provide the relevant data, so I'll just say that I recall reading (albeit a few years ago) that the greatest share of the fuel that is used on our roads is used for short, local journeys of less than 12 miles - going to work, going to the railway station, going shopping, school run, etc. Presuming that this is correct, surely boosting the use of electric vehicles for these journeys would be far more beneficial than boosting their use on one particular motorway.
Re: M4 takes green motoring lead
At some time in the not-too-distant future, it will be possible to stick enough electric juice into the battery to enable vehicles to travel 100 miles. It may be that Mandy knows that such recharging will be available by the time that the recharging stations are built, in which case, well done him.
Until that time, I believe that the money is being misused.
However, this being a Mandy project, there is a dark side : - in order to accommodate tens of thousands of cars for a few hours whilst they recharge, you need a big, big, car lot. You also need restaurants, entertainment, overnight accomodation, etc.
The electric vehicles are irrelevant to the purposes of the project. This is just one big building project for Mandy's mates, dressed up to look like a move towards furthering the use of electric vehicles.
Re: M4 takes green motoring lead
Whilst I welcome any investment commitment by the government at the moment the M4 seems an odd place to start as there are already excellent train services into London parallel to the M4.
By virtue of having been built in a straight line they are the nearest Britain currently has to a high speed line (Channel Tunnel link excepted) and there is already a published scheme to electrify it. Journey times by car along the M4 are almost always slower than taking the train, moreso at peak times.