But it was a three-year award-winning project carried out by Cork County Council which helped to push the environmentally-friendly agenda in Ireland.

BATTERIE, which stands for Better Accessible Transport to Encourage Robust Intermodal Enterprise, ran from 2012 to 2015.

It sought to encourage a shift towards public transportation and also to increase the appeal of electric vehicles through applied smart technologies such as journey planners and mobile applications.

The development of the E-Journey Planner included the locations of charging point stations making journeys EV driver-friendly.

Elaine Walsh, EU Projects Manager at Cork County Council, says the project was unlike any other in Ireland and has inspired other initiatives.

“Electric vehicles (EVs) are at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds nowadays, but that wasn’t the case five or six years ago,” she says.

“Our project acted as a slight precursor for Energy Cork, an initiative which promotes Cork’s energy industry in the country. BATTERIE didn’t have a direct role in this but I think the levels of engagement we saw from our project was an influence.”

Ms. Walsh says the project was well received by locals who were educated on the availability, development, costs and environmental impacts of EVs and modal transport.

The results culminated at the Cork Transport 2020 conference in 2014 which saw huge numbers with local TD Simon Coveney and members of the project’s 12 EU partners speaking.

In 2016, it took top prize at the Atlantic Area Awards in the Accessibility and Connectivity category.

BATTERIE received funding of €330,000 through Interreg which was then matched by Cork County Council.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the funding,” says Ms. Walsh.