Why do "hybrid" autos have expensive batteries?

Question

I'm confused. Hybrids have been around for years in vehicles, trains, ships, etc.

Why do autos seem to be novel?

My guess is there is ton's of money to be made with battery technology.

A serviceable diesel-electric car with a small battery, say 10 miles worth could function every bit as efficiently as plug and play, and(with) brake generated power.

Meanwhile, exploit our own hydrocarbons and all the problems and price instability will go away.

Answer 1

The original question was answered by fred.  The answer to your modified question is "yes, a diesel-electric hybrid would work, especially as a series hybrid."

Answer 2

the batteries are about $1500-2,000 USD but that price is comming down as the technology is becoming mainstream. but the batteries do last for about 150,000 miles so they do get nearly the same life as a traditional automobile. Over the next several years we will see hybrid techonology, hydrogen and solar technology playing a major role in automobiles. i do believe that all cars could and should come with the option of solar panels on the roof, if a consumer lives within a region that recieves much sunlight their car can basically run on solar and hybrid technology and greatly cut down on gasoline use to only times when the solar or plug in batteries run out. I believe the government is going to start to encourage this type of experimental car and start to work hard to push through efficiency measures and innovation in the automotive industry and every polluting industry.

Answer 3

Because automakers need to make more money!

Answer 4

You can make your own hybrid car battery for pennies, literally.  Get about 2500 lemons, zinc nails and pennies.  

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/lem...

The problem is the "good" materials required to make batteries with higher energy density and storage life is more expensive.  

But as with everything, as production increases, prices will come down.

Answer 5

cause they are the latest technology

Answer 6

they have to get you any way they can!

Answer 7

It has to do with power density. The best known hybrid is actually the submarines prior to nuclear power, with massive lead-acid cells. Diesel-electric. Worked fine, lasted a long time and drained to the bilge. Run on the diesel on the surface and charge the battery, then run on the battery only when submerged. Nuclear submarines have a battery, with about 1/5th the capacity of a diesel electric which works just like the battery in your car, used for starting it up mostly, though it can be used in a pinch to drive the s***w through an electric motor for a relatively short period of time as compared to the diesel electric.The main problem with lead-acid is physical size, and the electrolyte is a liquid, sulfuric acid, which in an auto accident, would be a significant hazard. The problem with a car is again, the physical size of the battery and how much power it holds. Current hybrids use NiMH for the most part. Lithium cells are just too expensive, though have a higher power density. The best combination has yet to be built, an all electric drive with an engine simply to be a generator, with electric motors in each wheel instead of a power train with a single electric motor driving a transmission. These exist as prototypes, but not as production vehicles. I'm holding out for the car with wheel motors and will continue to drive my little 3 cylinder Geo Metro which gets 50 MPH on average. One other things, battery life. Battery life is measured in charge-discharge cycles. A typical NiMH cell can be discharged and recharged about 1000 times, if done properly with a smart charger to prevent overcharging, which damages cells. Submarine lead-acid cells have a nominal guaranteed life of 850 cycles, and typically last through 1000 cycles. But, these cells are very carefully monitored during each cycle to prevent damaging the cells. People want maintenance free batteries, which makes it even harder on the engineers to design the charge and motor circuits to avoid conditions which will shorten the battery cycle life.

Answer 8

hybrid batteries are "expensive" for several reasons:

1) energy density-weight ratio: cars need to be small & light

2) charge discharge cycle: hybrids are constantly charging & discharging at high current.

3) low volume manufacture: few economies of scale

4) mechanical robustness, road vibration etc

5) cabin tempreature: eg after standing  all day in a hot car-park

6) key patents owned by oil companies eg from the GM EV1

there are new technologies which should change all that once they can get the volume production http://www.altairnano.com/ 20+year life, recharge in 10 minutes etc

we won't need the infernal combustion part of the hybrid, which is much more expensive & requires more maintenance than the batteries

http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/

Answer 9

Cheap batteries won't get you far enough. The new tech batteries use expensive parts to work better, go farther, and to be charged a lot more times before replacing them. You are being overoptimistic, or dreaming, or just don't know the whole story. Everything has it's drawbacks. Battery disposal, recharging on fossil fuel power, expensive breakdowns, expensive battery replacement, etc.

Answer 10

Great question! There's lots of exciting battery research just now coming to fruition, and cheap, powerful batteries are just now arriving. One of the first technologies out of the gate is the Altairnano battery, in the Phoenix electric car:

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http://phoenixmotorcars.com

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The Altairnanos can charge in just 10 minutes, and have a 20-year lifespan. At $45000 it is an expensive car, but a typical driver will save 10-20 cents per mile in fuel costs, which can add up quickly.  It's also in the ZAP-X electric car, a 644-horsepower, 155mph electric monster:

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http://zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=456...

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Three other battery technologies promise to be much cheaper than Altairnanos, with similar performance. First is EESTOR Ultracapacitors, which can charge in 5 minutes, and have a very low manufacturing cost. Link:

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http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/...

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Next are batteries from FireFly. They have taken the 100-year-old lead-acid battery and made it dramatically lighter and more powerful. This battery tech is very inexpensive to make. link:

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http://www.electrifyingtimes.com/firefly...

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And finally, a new battery that you and I can actually buy, today, cheaply. It's a low-cost li-ion EV battery invented and made in China. Here's a sales page:

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http://everspring.net/product-battery.ht...

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