A NUMBER of blue chip organisations have agreed to provide charging points for electric vehicles as the region takes part in the world’s largest trial project.

Tesco, British Gas, CE Electric UK, the AA and MetroCentre’s part owner Capital Shopping Centres will provide high-profile locations for the charging points, along with technical advice and promotional work.

Regional development agency One North East intends to install 750 charging points over the course of next year and 2011, with the first 40 already being installed in Newcastle and Gateshead.

It follows last week’s announcement that a consortium, including Nissan, in Sunderland, and Smith Electric Vehicles, part of the North-Eastbased Tanfield Group, as well as AVID Vehicles, Liberty Electric Cars, Newcastle University and One North East, have received funding from the Government’s Technology Strategy Board to develop and trial electric or low-carbon vehicles.

One North East’s head of strategic economic change, Chris Pywell, said: “We are delighted to have such high-profile private- sector backing for what the region is trying to achieve.

“Electric vehicles are not a futuristic vision any more, they are on our roads now.

“It is a reality that we must take advantage of, not only to lower our carbon emission levels, but to exploit the economic potential it offers the region.”

The North-East trial, involving £3.9m of Government funding and up to £6.7m from the consortium, is one of eight around the country, involving more than 340 cars.

It will put 35 passenger vehicles on the North-East roads later this year or early next year.

Washington-based Smith, working with LTI and Ford, is likely to produce the first vehicle for trial, an executive minibus.

The fleet will also include 15 Nissan cars, ten taxis and five people carriers produced by Smith, two AVID saloon cars and two Liberty urban Range Rovers.

The network of charging points will be monitored by Newcastle University’s Transport Operations Research Group.