HC Deb 09 July 1997 vol 297 c494W
Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent evaluation has been made by his Department of the suitability of vehicles powered by zinc air batteries for commercial fleet usage. [7358]

Ms Glenda Jackson

The Department, in collaboration with other bodies, is evaluating in a three-year field trial, the role that vehicles powered by alternative fuels such as electricity might play in minimising transport emissions. The results will be available later this year.

In general terms, factors such as battery technology and infrastructure/recharging systems have meant that electric vehicles have not as yet gained customer acceptance due to higher price, inferior performance and range. It is encouraging that industry is responding to this through the development of systems and products such as zinc air batteries which appear to offer improvements in these areas.