The future will be on show this weekend when the University of Newcastle’s Tom Farrell Institute hosts the Hunter Valley Electric Vehicle Festival.

The event kicks off on Friday with a clean transport and innovation forum featuring representatives from industry, the university and government who will come together to discuss the future of alternative fuels and transport in the Hunter region.

The festivities continue into Saturday with a car show at Newcastle Foreshore Park featuring a locally-made electric version of the Delorean, the car made famous by the 1980s movie trilogy Back to the Future.

Also on show will be the Varley Super Car, the Holden Volt, the Ausgrid Smart Grid Smart City Program's fleet of Mitsubishi iMiev’s and the Toyota Prius.

As part of the festival Hunter schools have been working on building their own electric bike and will race their finished products at Cameron Park Kart Raceway on Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

“The festival is all about thinking of sustainable transport in fun and innovative ways that support the development of electric vehicle industries in the region,” Tom Farrell Institute’s Belinda McNab said.

The Hunter Valley Electric Vehicle Festival runs from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 18 August at Newcastle’s Foreshore Park. For more information contact TessCampbell on (02) 4921 8714 or visit Hunter Valley Electric Vehicle Festival.