Robert's Electric Dreams

Bobby undertakes epic eco trek.

21 February, 2014

There's something appropriate about the fact that a man famous for playing our favourite robot should have become such a strong advocate for futuristic, ecologically-sound electric car technology - and Robert Llewellyn has recently struck the latest blow in his ongoing attempts to prove that anything petrol can do, green power can do better.

Last month - on the 24th of January, to be precise - Robert and his co-driver David Peilow set out to prove that the increasing coverage of the so-called "electric highway" (a network of vehicle charging points spanning the length of the UK) made it possible to complete in a single day a journey that had previously taken several.

Driving an electric car from London to Edinburgh had, just three years previously, taken the BBC's Brian Milligan four days. David and Robert, however, were able to complete their 407-mile journey in just thirteen hours, making eight recharging stops along the way in their Mark 2 Nissan Leaf car.

Okay, so it's still some way off what it's possible to achieve with an old-fashioned petrol car - or even an eco-friendly hybrid - but this high-profile campaign has shown just how far electric vehicle technology has come in such a short time. And what's more, the journey cost far less than it would have done had they filled up at a petrol station: the Electric Highway's charging points are currently free to use, but according to Robert, even at current standard energy rates the 121 kWh used would cost only around £17, compared with £77 for the expected standard fuel cost for the same distance.

You can read more about Robert and David's groundbreaking journey at Robert's blog, and the story is also the subject of the latest episode of his web series Fully Charged.

Read more about all things eco-electric at the LlewBlog!