Hydrogen car from University of Sunderland

The Nissan Almera, known as the HyPower Nissan, has been converted by the university's Institute of Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice to be powered by hydrogen gas, according to the Journal.

Unveiled at an international conference on alternative fuel held by the University of Sunderland, the vehicle can run on both petrol and hydrogen, with the gas being the cleaner alternative as the main emission it creates is water.

I think it is a real alternative to the petrol car. It can definitely be the car of the future

Dirk Kok

Project Leader

University of Sunderland

Dirk Kok, Project Leader, told the newspaper: "I think it is a real alternative to the petrol car. It can definitely be the car of the future.

He also revealed that it could be possible to convert other vehicles to run on the clean fuel source and pointed out that research is underway to create hydrogen refuelling stations which can be installed in homes.

A spokeswoman for Nissan described Sunderland as "one of the fastest growing automotive areas in the UK" and said the area can add the development of alternative fuels to its credentials.

In other news, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced a three-year study to research short-rotation forestry to produce crops for renewable energy.

The £1.5 million project will involve input from Forestry Commission England to evaluate the feasibility of crops such as eucalyptus for use in biomass power generation.