Meet the Mixim, Nissan’s vision of the future. Unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show last week, it has gullwing doors, drive-by-wire technology and cameras instead of mirrors. Most importantly, it is powered by electricity.

Of course, nobody should expect to see a Mixim or anything like it in their local showroom any time soon, because it’s a concept, dressed up to show off Nissan’s ideas. However, the manufacturer says it is planning to have electric cars that use technology previewed on the Mixim in showrooms as soon as 2010.

The Mixim is powered by compact lithium-ion batteries, and is all-wheel drive as it has one electric motor per axle. It may only have been driven to the stand at low speed at the show, but Nissan predicts it could have a top speed of 112mph, a range of 90-125 miles between recharges, and a charging time as short as 20-40 minutes.

Nissan was not the only company plugging electric cars. BMW debuted a petrol-electric hybrid concept version of its new X6, “sports activity coupé”. Citroën was showcasing its C-Cactus hybrid, a concept vehicle made from ultra-light, recyclable materials, and it announced plans to launch a diesel-electric C4 by 2010. And Volvo revealed its plug-in petrol hybrid C30, named ReCharge, which has one electric motor per wheel and can travel more than 60 miles on battery power alone.

Car makers are at last putting serious money into developing electric cars, partly because of criticism that they aren’t doing enough to combat one of the causes of global warming, and partly because of the European Union’s threat to bring down the CO2 emissions of all new cars to less than 120g/km. But the biggest reason is oil. Last week the price of crude reached a price of $80 per barrel, the highest for 20 years, and most economists don’t expect that to come down by much. This changes the economics of electric cars, not so much in Britain, where fuel is heavily taxed, but in overseas markets, where changes in oil prices have a bigger proportional effect on the cost of fuel.

Battery technology is crucial to the speed of electric-car development because it determines a car’s range, performance and recharge time.

Traditional lead-acid batteries, which typically produce some 60 watt-hours of electricity to the kilogram, don’t have the strength to drive something as heavy and power-hungry as a car for long. But rapid advances in battery technology mean that newer nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries – the sort used to power the Toyota Prius hybrid – achieve as much as 120 watt-hours to the kilogram, while the latest generation of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, similar to those used in laptops and mobile phones, are good for almost 200 watt-hours to the kilogram.

Put simply, for the same weight as a lead-acid battery, a Li-ion battery produces nearly four times the power, doubling an electric car’s travelling range. However, the cost of Li-ion batteries has so far restricted their use to concept vehicles.

There are also safety concerns about their use in cars; some critics have warned of the potential of Li-ion batteries to overheat and cause fires. Earlier this summer, Panasonic recalled 46m mobile phone batteries made for Nokia after a handful of them burst into flames. Toyota says it will continue with NiMH power in the Prius for the time being.

Nonetheless, many manufacturers see Li-ion technology as the way forward. Last week the Elettrica, a small two-seat city runaround, arrived in Britain. Built in Italy, it has a 70-mile range, a top speed of 45mph and is the first reasonably affordable Li-ion battery-powered car on the market. It is certainly nippier than many other electric cars that have come and gone, and although it costs £12,750 – almost double the price of the current bestselling Reva G-Wiz – it makes battery-powered motoring more practicable.

Later this year a new Li-ion version of the Th!nk electric car will roll off the production line in Norway. It’s a successor to the original Th!nk killed off by parent company Ford due to its lack of profitability. The new car has a projected range of 112 miles and a top speed of 62mph.

The G-Wiz is also set to get a battery makeover. In 2008, Britain’s most popular electric car, driven by celebrities such as Jonathan Ross, the presenter, and Kristin Scott Thomas, the actress, is set to be relaunched with an upgraded lithium power pack.

Meanwhile, General Motors last month announced a tie-up with a small company named A123 Systems, that claims to have produced an affordable Li-ion battery for the company’s planned Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle, due to hit showrooms in 2010.

Of course we’ve heard this all before. The recent history of the battery car has been bleak. Despite decades of trying – electric cars have been around since the 1890s – no manufacturer has made a success. The original Th!nk was not alone in having its plug pulled: after great fanfare at its launch and a high take-up, notably by celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Martin Sheen and Tom Hanks, the EV1 electric car was scrapped by GM in 2003, while Citroën ditched the Berlingo electric van as recently as 2005 after poor sales.

But if the signs at Frankfurt are to be believed, we are on the verge of a comeback for the electric car. Not only that, but according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders there is a growing public appetite for these vehicles.

In 2006 only 298 electric vehicles were sold in Britain, compared with the 294 that have already been registered in the past eight months, putting 2007 on course to being the biggest year ever for electric vehicle sales.

Okay, so 294 is a tiny quantity but, to borrow from Chairman Mao, the longest journey starts with a single volt, and the cause has at least one high-profile optimist. Chris Paine, the American film maker responsible for last year’s searing attack on the car industry and oil lobby groups with his documentary entitled Who Killed the Electric Car?, is busy working on his follow-up feature: Who Saved the Electric Car?

Money saver

The Reva G-Wiz is the most popular electric car currently available, and as well as saving the environment it can save you money. Here’s how

Model Reva G-Wiz AC. Price: £7,299

Road tax Free (all vehicles in tax band A – less than 100g CO2 – are free)

Insurance group 1

Fuel cost 40p per full recharge

Range 48 miles per charge

Battery life Three years on average

Battery replacement cost £1,400

MPG Equivalent of 600mpg /km 63g/km (well-to-wheel emissions when using a regular electricity supplier)

Company car tax £131.38 for 20% tax payer, £262.76 for 40% tax payer

Congestion charge Exempt (saves £8 a day five days a week – about £2,000 a year)

Parking Free in many London council areas

Residual value Good (a one-and-a-half year-old model with a list price then of £7,900 sells for £5,000, retaining 63.3% of its original value)

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