A SPECIALIST glass manufacturer has sold a revolutionary device to charge electric cars in Europe and is aiming for more sales following a major event in this country.

Earlier this year, glass firm Romag, based in Consett, County Durham, developed a photovoltaic canopy that could charge electric cars using solar energy.

It has recently sold one of the PowerPark canopies to a company on a green business park in Holland.

And the company is also hopeful of securing more sales following talks at the Low Carbon Vehicle event 2009 (LCV2009) at Millbrook, in Bedfordshire, earlier this month.

Romag was one of 19 North- East exhibitors at the event, alongside development agency One North East, Nissan, and Washington-based Smith Electric Vehicles.

The firm’s technical director, Kevin Webster, said: “There were quite a number of inquiries.

“We are confident that in the long-term some sales will come out of it.”

Mr Webster said that sales of the device were something that was “going to build over time”, as the necessary infrastructure and number of people using electric cars increased.

He added: “We have recently installed one in the Netherlands for a company on a green park where there are already renewable energy companies.”

The progress comes as the North-East aims to turn itself into a hub for electric vehicle production.

Mr Webster added: “I think it is exciting the way it is happening in the North-East, on our doorstep.”

In June, the region was selected to take part in the world’s largest trial testing the day to day viability of electric vehicles.

A consortium including Nissan, Smith, Avid Vehicles, Liberty Electric Cars, Newcastle University and One North East received Government funding to develop and trial electric and low carbon vehicles.

The trial, involving £3.9m of Government funding and up to £6.7m from the consortium, will put 35 electric passenger vehicles – cars, taxis and minibuses – on the region’s roads in the next year.

It will also lead to 750 electric vehicle-charging points being installed.

In July, Nissan announced that its European Centre of Excellence for Battery Manufacturing would sit alongside its car factory in Sunderland, making the region a leading contender to make its electric vehicles for the European market.