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Exhibit explores history and future of energy tech

Discovery Museum People posed inside and around an electric car outside the Discovery Museum. It is a cross-section so half of the car has been removed, so the interior and inner workings of the engine can be seen.Discovery Museum
A cross section of an electric Nissan LEAF car will be on display

An exhibition exploring the story of energy technology in the North East has opened.

The exhibit at Newcastle's Discovery Museum, Steam to Green - A North East Energy Revolution, charts the past 150 years of how innovators and businesses harnessed different energy sources.

The display highlights Victorian use of fossil fuels as well as the green energy revolution, focusing on industries such as Nissan in Sunderland which was the first mass producer of electric vehicles in Europe.

Organisers said they hoped to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists and inventors.

The exhibit will run for two years and will include interactive elements for all ages.

Timbering Up, a large artwork by South Tyneside artist and former miner Bob Olley, is also featured.

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums 'Timbering up' is a piece of artwork depicting miners underground cutting pieces of timber to create a mine shaft.Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
Timbering Up was created in 2015 by former South Tyneside miner Bob Olley

Visitors will also be able to send a hydrogen ball skywards by generating electricity that passes through water, splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen, and then mixing the gases together to create a reaction that sends the ball upwards.

Also on display is a cross section of an underwater sea cable as well as permanent exhibitions including the waterwheel invented by north-east of England industrialist William Armstrong.

Discovery Museum The Nissan LEAF car cross-section being driven through the Discovery Museum's front door.Discovery Museum
The Nissan LEAF car cross-section was driven through the front door of the museum in preparation for the exhibit

The exhibition is supported by Newcastle University, Vattenfall, Faraday Challenge, Reece Foundation, The Headley Trust, Friends of Discovery Museum, and the Art Fund.

Professor Colin Herron CBE, of Newcastle University, said: "We hope to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists and inventors to help this once in a lifetime transition."

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