Led by Dr Ghanim Putrus, reader in electrical power engineering in the school of computing, engineering and information sciences, the project measured existing energy consumption across the region, and developed a tool which could calculate the additional demand from having vehicles plugged in.

Though it was designed for the North East, which was recently designated the UK’s first low carbon economic area (LCEA) and is set to get 1,000 charging points by 2013, the ‘Grid Capacity Calculator’ can be applied across any region of the UK.

A follow-on project will now adapt it to include additional features, allowing analysis of smart charging systems, which adjust to suit peak demand and can feed energy back to the grid.

Dr Putrus explained: ‘The resource will help policy-makers, developers and network operators to analyse the impact of electric vehicles in the presence of micro generators and low carbon technologies. It will help to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

‘This tool will help to build the infrastructure around electric cars and can be used inside and outside the region, as well as in international contexts. Any electricity usage scenario can be tested using this tool, giving a picture of what can happen to existing grid infrastructure and helping to plan future power networks or smart grids,’ he said.