NURSLING has been chosen as the launch pad for a £1.6bn scheme that aims to fuel the electric car revolution.

Pivot Power plans to build the world's first integrated system of battery storage facilities and electric vehicle charging stations, starting with a £25 million complex beside the M27.

It comes as civic chiefs strive to improve air quality in Southampton, which has been named as one of the most polluted cities in the UK.

Under the proposals Pivot Power will establish a national network of energy storage facilities and charging super-hubs fed by National Grid sub-stations.

The groundbreaking scheme aims to accelerate the take up of low carbon transport.

Experts say sales of electric vehicles worldwide are set to rise from 1.1 million last year to 30 million in 2030 as they become cheaper to make than cars with internal combustion engines.

Test Valley Borough Council has granted permission for Pivot Power's first battery complex to be built beside a sub-station at Station Road, Nursling.

A company spokesman said: "The development will put Southampton at the forefront of the smart energy revolution, creating infrastructure that will make it easier for drivers to switch to EVs."

Pivot Power intends to submit a separate application for a charging station at another site in the area.

Matthew Boulton, the company's chief operating officer, said: “We want to support councils working to clean up air pollution, promote low-carbon policies and develop a sustainable economy with better services for local people.

"Close collaboration will ensure we build the right infrastructure in the right place to make it easy to switch to electric vehicles.”

Housed in 25 containers, the Nursling battery will occupy a 1.6-acre site on National Grid land south of the motorway.

Pivot Power is still in the process of identifying a suitable site for a charging super-hub.

A Southampton City Council spokesman said: "The council is excited by the opportunities technology like this could bring to Southampton and the wider area.

"By harnessing power in facilities like this we are able to explore how it might support investment in sustainable energy and zero emission transport and the positive benefits that will bring to our city."

But Liz Batten of Clean Air Southampton had a mixed reaction to the scheme.

She said: "While we welcome the provision of more charging points for electric vehicles in the city, there are air quality issues that won't be solved by electric vehicles.

"They do not emit nitrogen dioxide gas like diesel engines but they will still put particulate matter into the air from tyres and brake wear.

"We need fewer vehicles in the city, rather than 'business as usual'."