British Gas is conducting the UK's largest trial of electric vans with a currently unreleased model.

The company will be testing 28 of Nissan's all-electric e-NV200 vans for a six-month period in a broad winter test across the country. This is being done in partnership with Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Gateshead College.

Its findings will prove important for various industries which involve a lot of driving and transportation, such as logistics and supply chains, as British Gas will be looking at the feasibility of implementing such green alternatives into its wider business.

General manager of British Gas's fleet Colin Marriott said: "We're committed to leading the industry in reducing the amount of carbon and other harmful tailpipe emissions emitted by our 13,000 strong vehicle fleet."

The use of electric vehicles is still, to some extent, reliant on regions, with British Gas carefully choosing its locations for the van, due to charge point availability. However, a recent ruling in the European Parliament has tasked the UK with adding 70,000 more locations by 2020.

Similarly, all drivers taking part have had in-house facilities installed, as it is common for British Gas employees to take their work van home.