As the UK Government announces plans to replace petrol and diesel cars with hybrid or electric cars by 2040, Pentaxia’s managing director Stephen Ollier looks at the investment needed to achieve Britain’s road revolution:

“This is a bold announcement that reflects deadlines set by other developed countries to achieve more sustainable travel in the future. While there has been a lot of concern expressed, we believe the technology is now in place to make the concept work. However, you can’t take electric cars in isolation; it is part of a much wider development involving electricity generation and storage. The technologies we use will mature over the coming years and fundamentally change the way we produce and use electricity.

“Ten years ago, the iPhone was just being introduced and now we are nearly all dependent on smartphone services. We are sure that a similar huge shift will occur with road vehicles, in the way that we control and use them. Pentaxia hopes to be part of that huge change as the use of advanced composites to support the new technology will be essential to reduce weight and energy consumption. We are already working on a number of new ideas to ensure we can keep up with the development.

“The UK needs to be a major player in this future technology and we hope the Government will help support the investment needed to be successful.”