World's leading renewable energy show announces its first Northern live show will be held in Yorkshire

The show will be the latest addition to a series of global events for the Fully Charged team which takes them to Europe, America, Canada and Australia as well as Fully Charged LIVE South, which is held in Hampshire.

The live shows, which attract thousands of visitors, come on the back of the hugely popular YouTube channel founded by actor, author and presenter Robert Llewellyn.

Following his role as Kryton in the hit sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, Robert went onto present Scrapheap Challenge and its American equivalent, Junkyard Wars.

It was while he was overseas Robert came into contact with the early electric cars which sparked a fascination with the technology.

In 2010 he started the Fully Charged YouTube channel, shooting it on his mobile phone.

And while it took around five years for the channel to gain any traction since then it has grown and grown.

Now, eleven years since he started Fully Charged, Robert said he has seen a huge change in people’s attitude and perception of electric vehicles.

“In 2010, completely understandably, if 90 per cent of the population heard the term electric car they would have referred to a newspaper article they read or an expert they had heard saying they don’t work or you have to throw the battery away or that they run out of power after a few yards.

“But that incredible resistance to electric vehicles has now completely transformed.”

Dan Caesar, joint CEO of Fully Charged with Robert, said they were now starting to see clean energy and electric vehicles hitting the mainstream.

“In December last year 26.2 per cent of all cars sold were electric,” he said. “That was nine per cent the year before and two per cent the year before that so suddenly there is a very rapid change.

“Consumers are saying ‘actually I am interested in this’ and the range of cars has changed significantly.”

Dan said initially electric cars had a short range of 50/80/200 miles.

“If you are running around a city you can manage with that but if you are not – and most people want to go a bit further occasionally – then you need a longer range.

“Almost all of the modern cars now have a 200-350 mile range which is a real game changer.”

The extended range for electric vehicles comes with what Dan describes as a “sweet spot” for the technology involved.

“People used to talk about hydrogen electric vehicles about ten years ago but what has happened is the lithium-ion battery, which is the main technology for electric cars has developed to such an extent that it makes using anything else just uneconomic.

“So the battery has got cheaper and cheaper and cheaper at a rate people didn’t predict and they got more and more energy dense as well so that is why you now see lots of cars with 200, 250 and 300-mile ranges.

“The technology is going to continue to develop but it is probably at the point where it is very usable.”

With technology moving on, the focus will now be on the charging infrastructure which is where Dan said the investment is needed.

“It is still a bit piecemeal but it is a valuable market so I think it will happen quite quickly.”

But while electric cars are becoming more popular they are still an expensive initial investment and Dan agrees they are not cheap enough yet.

“Lots of car manufacturers are producing £40,000-£50,000 cars and are not taking the lower end of the market seriously yet.”

But, he said, that is starting to come. “There are others wanting to try and get into that space, among them the Chinese companies who are saying ‘we can do that’. So it will happen.

“It is more affordable than people think it is,” Dan said.

“With the vast majority of people leasing their car now rather than buying it outright on what is called the total cost of ownership, it is already comparable.

“Charging is cheaper than petrol or diesel and there are additional reductions such as some zero emission fees and zero road tax.”

Visitors to the three-day Fully Charged LIVE event which will run from Friday, May 19 to Sunday, May 21, 2023 will have the opportunity to see all the new technology in action as well getting expert advice on changing to sustainable energy sources on the road and in their homes.

Dan and Robert said they chose the YEC as the venue for the first Northern show as it tied in with the sustainable ethos of Fully Charged, making it a “natural partner”.

Heather Parry, managing director of the Yorkshire Event Centre, said it was a “very exciting” signing for the YEC which is based on the Great Yorkshire Showground.

“The values of green thinking and sustainability are at the top of every agenda, including ours.

“This event will be large and has the space to grow with us; we are looking forward to welcoming sponsors, exhibitors and visitors to Harrogate and are proud to play a part in the promotion of green and sustainable ways of living.”