A new company has been established by Gateshead College aiming to make the North East a leader in the production of green cars.
Known as Zero Carbon Futures, the company will take over some of the responsibility of driving the North East’s low carbon vehicle agenda following the closure of the development agency One North East. It will work in partnership with the new Local Enterprise Partnerships as well as local stakeholders.
Among its responsibilities will be to oversee the conversion of the former Nissan test track into the North of England’s first performance track. With the area already home to Nissan LEAF production, Gateshead College will provide training and learning in all areas of the sector with the region a leader in the Government’s Plugged In Places programme.
In addition, Zero Carbon Futures will take over the project named Charge Your Car, which aims to install more than 1,000 electric vehicle charging points across the region by 2013.
The move follows on from the college’s £6.2million Regional Growth Fund bid, which aims to create 5,000 jobs over the next 10 years in the low carbon vehicle sector.
