I've always wondered this about hybrid cars...

[Catty1]

More FAQs at: http://www.hybridcars.com/faq.html#battery

Q: How often do hybrid batteries need replacing? Is replacement expensive and disposal an environmental problem?


A: The hybrid battery packs are designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, probably a whole lot longer. The warranty covers the batteries for between eight and ten years, depending on the car maker.

Battery toxicity is a concern, althoug today's hybrids use NiMH batteries, not the environmentally problematic rechargeable nickel cadmium. "Nickel metal hydride batteries are benign. They can be fully recycled," says Ron Cogan, editor of the Green Car Journal. Toyota and Honda say that they will recycle dead batteries and that disposal will pose no toxic hazards. Toyota puts a phone number on each battery, and they pay a $200 "bounty" for each battery to help ensure that it will be properly recycled.

There's no definitive word on replacement costs because they are almost never replaced. According to Toyota, since the Prius first went on sale in 2000, they have not replaced a single battery for wear and tear.

[caseysmom]

I have heard that gas cars are more ecologically friendly than these hybrids I can't remember if its the emissions or the disposal of the old batteries.

[Catty1]

I would think it's the batteries, as that's the only thing I hear about! :)

Finding out that the hybrid ones are recyclable, to where the company has a $200 bounty on them, I find encouraging.

The old batteries are returnable also...I guess they are broken down and recycled as well.

[Lady's Human]

The problem with hybrids is that more energy is put into the manufacture of the hybrid drive system than the system will ever save over the life of the car. The battery manufacturing process is also extremely environmentally dirty as the batteries are manufactured in China where there are almost no environmental controls in place. I'll stick to my 30+ mpg gas engined car, thank you.

[Catty1]

Thanks, LH! That is good to know!

I'm hankering for a diesel car myself! :)

[Lady's Human]

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070404_Hidden_cost_of_driving_a_Prius.html

See the above link for SOME of the costs of hybrid cars.
They actually cost far more than they save. For a truly eco-friendly vehicle, anything that gets high gas mileage, be it diesel or gas, is better. I'm waiting on the diesels until they figure out engine longevity with the new low sulfur fuels. I'd love to see a TDI diesel in the states, but I don't think it's going to happen until the EPA stops cutting off our noses to spite our collective faces.

[crow_noir]

I'll try and find the info later(I was supposed to be in bed an hour ago,) but i read something like lots of forest is destroyed for some ingredient for the Hybrid batteries.

[Lady's Human]

They are probably talking about mining for nickel, which in Canada at least is an open-pit process.

The nickel is going to be mined for other industrial uses anyway, so it really isn't a valid argument. Similar arguments are used with tantalum and its use in cell phones, but it's just not logical. There are a myriad of other uses for the metal, it is going to be mined regardless.

The difference in nickel use in battery production is that the process (foaming nickel metal for use in battery cells) is fairly nasty environmentally, while other uses for nickel (steel alloys, for instance) aren't as environmentally questionable.

[crow_noir]

That sounds about like what i was thinking of. I could have sworn i had links on it, but i can't find them anywhere. Thanks for at least posting a small blurb on it. The issue mostly was with the soil being contaminated and the plants and animals dyeing off.


They are probably talking about mining for nickel, which in Canada at least is an open-pit process.

The nickel is going to be mined for other industrial uses anyway, so it really isn't a valid argument. Similar arguments are used with tantalum and its use in cell phones, but it's just not logical. There are a myriad of other uses for the metal, it is going to be mined regardless.

The difference in nickel use in battery production is that the process (foaming nickel metal for use in battery cells) is fairly nasty environmentally, while other uses for nickel (steel alloys, for instance) aren't as environmentally questionable.

[smokey the elder]

I think that the liquid fuel powered Internal Combustion engine, that can be adapted to run on many fuels (gas, diesel, alcohol blends, biodiesel, etc.) at a high efficiency is an important step.

Any product is going to cost more energy to make than you get out of it. It's called the three laws of thermodynamics. :p

The good thing is that people are starting to think holistically about the total carbon footprint of a product or process, at the grass-roots level. There are loads of small things that are starting to be done that add up.

[crow_noir]

*nods in agreement*

smokey the elder: "I think that the liquid fuel powered Internal Combustion engine, that can be adapted to run on many fuels (gas, diesel, alcohol blends, biodiesel, etc.) at a high efficiency is an important step.

Any product is going to cost more energy to make than you get out of it. It's called the three laws of thermodynamics.

The good thing is that people are starting to think holistically about the total carbon footprint of a product or process, at the grass-roots level. There are loads of small things that are starting to be done that add up."