Are hybrid cars bad for the environment, in that the battery eventually dies?

Question

What happens to hybrid batteries when it loses it's life?

Answer 1

No, they are not bad for the environment. Batteries can be recycled. The chemicals in batteries are no worse than gasoline, motor oil and other stuff in cars anyway. No more toxic waste will result from more hybrid cars than would have resulted from regular cars that have more of those other pollutants.

Answer 2

Anything that pollutes the environment, period, is bad for the environment.  Yes, that includes people.

Answer 3

Over its life, say 200,000 miles, the average gas burning vehicle will generate say five discarded lead acid batteries (instead of one), and will generate tons of CO2 and other green house gases.  So, while the least pollution option is probably walking, hybrid cars have a significantly lower level of environmental impact that the standard car that uses an internal combustion engine.

Answer 4

<sigh>  I suggest reading:

Battery Toxicity:

http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxici...

Hummer versus Prius: “Dust to Dust” Report Misleads the Media and Public with Bad Science:

http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_...

Prius Versus HUMMER: Exploding the Myth:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_New...

Giving Directions:

http://www.betterworldclub.com/articles/...

Usually the mythic "article" from The Mail on the nickel in the hybrid cars' NiMH batteries is quoted from a now retracted article.  The retraction that clears up this bit of misinformation is at:

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live...

Hybrid battery replacements aren't all that common, and on some models very rare.  (The hybrid battery is designed to last the life of the car.)  In the US, the hybrid battery packs are usually warrantied for 8 years/80,000 miles or longer (depending on manufacturer and if an AT-PZEV model in a CA emission state (10 years/150,000 miles).  Full warranty, NOT pro-rated.

Meanwhile, here's the 2004 Toyota Prius Green Report (life cycle assessment):

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/k_forum/tenji...

(you'll need to download the Japanese fonts for your PDF reader inorder to read it, but the entire document is written in English. note that this was published well before the Inco-Sudbury "article" and CNW "report.")

Over the lifespan of the Prius, when compared to a comparable mid-sized gasoline vehicle, the Prius comes out ahead in the lifecycle assessment (LCA) for airborne emissions for CO2, NOx, SOx, HC, but actually does worse for PM (thanks to the material and vehicle production stages). Lifespan is given as 10 years use/100,000km. The CO2 break-even point for the 2004 Prius compared to this unnamed gasoline vehicle is given at 20,000km. (more CO2 is emitted during Prius production, but the Prius makes up for it over it's driven lifetime.)

Another neat thing is that the Prius is one of the first uses of

Toyota's Eco-Plastic (plastic made from plants, as opposed to

petroleum products).  The battery is recycleable (NiMH), as is much of

the car (steel and aluminum body, for example).

To quote Toyota's press release:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_librar...

<quote>

How long does the Prius battery last and what is the replacement cost?

The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle.

We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear.

Is there a recycling plan in place for nickel-metal hydride batteries?

Toyota has a comprehensive battery recycling program in place and has been recycling nickel-metal hydride batteries since the RAV4 Electric Vehicle was introduced in 1998. Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled. To ensure that batteries come back to Toyota, each battery has a phone number on it to call for recycling information and dealers are paid a $200 "bounty" for each battery.

</quote>

As for the batteries themselves:

The lead-acid (Pb-A) 12v accessory batteries in hybrids tend to be smaller than those found in every traditional gasoline vehicle. Recycling programs are in place for traditional lead-acid batteries.

All the hybrids on the market use NiMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) batteries, which contain no heavy metals (so they're not hazardous waste, like the Pb-A batteries), and are easily recycled.  Often they'll have labels on the packs themselves listing who to contact to recycle them, and often there's a nice cash bounty as well.

There are no commercially-available plug-in hybrids on the market so far. Some hobbiests and aftermarket companies have been altering a few hybrids (Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid/Mercury Mariner Hybrid) to make them plug-in capable. Typically this requires adding additional hybrid batteries, besides the ability to charge off the mains.

For more information, check out http://www.calcars.org/vehicles.html

For cost reasons, unless you are a fleet owner or other high-mileage driver it probably will not be worth the cost of the PHEV conversion for you. (Conversion pricing is high due to startup costs and low volumes, besides the pricing of the needed additional battery packs.)

To note, converting to a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) does not reduce the vehicle's range. It gives the owner the option to recharge the (newly added larger) hybrid battery pack at night (cheap electricity and off-peak electric load which would otherwise be lost). The vehicle would run for a certain distance (longer than stock) on the stored electric power alone, and when the battery pack is depleted to a certain point the vehicle reverts back to its original hybrid self and runs on a combination of the gasoline engine (which will also recharge the battery) and the electric motor. A PHEV would add a greater all-electric range to the existing hybrid, besides the ability (but not the requirement!) to plug it into an electric source.

Depending on the source for electricity in your area, a BEV (battery electric vehicle) may or may not put out more greenhouse gas emissions than a 55MPG HEV (hybrid electric vehicle). Mainly, if the primary source for electricity in your area is coal, your HEV is cleaner than a BEV running on coal-powered electricity. However, if your electricity source is natural gas, the BEV is usually cleaner than the HEV (depending on the method used for natural gas->electricity conversion), and it gets even better for the BEV if you are using a hydroelectric or other renewable electric source.  In comparisons with a generic 17MPG SUV, an average 26MPG vehicle, and a high-efficiency 38MPG vehicle, the 38MPG vehicle still will beat the coal-powered BEV, but isn't as clean as the HEV (and gas and renewables powered BEVs are much better than the 38MPG vehicle).

see: "Battery-Powered Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Projects to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions:  A Resource Guide for Project Development," July 2002

http://www.netl.doe.gov/products/ccps/pu...

http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/i...

mainly section 4.3

(and that's besides the arguements that it's easier to manage emissions from a handful of electric plants, as opposed to millions of independently-owned cars...  typically, electric charging rates (especially the off-peak charging times which would use otherwise lost power and level the loads) are still cheaper than petroleum rates, too.  Of course, there are still emissions to worry about other than just greenhouse gas emissions, too.)

You may also want to try out the HEV cost/benefit/emission calculator at:  http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles...

more info on US electric power generation (for your followup BEV question) can be found here:  http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelelectric.html

Answer 5

As long as they go for recycling 100% the environment should be happy . But how much does that cost when the battery is expired ? And how many carbuyers didn't know about that ?

Answer 6

The components can be recycled.

j

Answer 7

No, hybrid batteries are fully recyclable.

"Toyota has a comprehensive battery recycling program in place and has been recycling nickel-metal hydride batteries since the RAV4 Electric Vehicle was introduced in 1998. Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled. To ensure that batteries come back to Toyota, each battery has a phone number on it to call for recycling information and dealers are paid a $200 "bounty" for each battery."