Does a hybrid really help save the earth?

Question

I've read some articles about a problem with hybrids which the process used to make and dispose the batteries for these cars is just as bad for the enviornment as oil production. Plus what the power companies burn up making the extra energy to charge your car at night is worse then what your average car burns off every day in gasoline. Is there any truth to any of this? Or was this just gas company propoganda.

Answer 1

Mostly oil company propaganda.

The 12v lead-acid (Pb-A) accessory battery in hybrids are the same as in any other vehicle. In the case of the Toyota/Lexus and Ford/Mercury full-hybrid designs, it isn't needed to start the car, so it is often smaller than that found in other vehicles. These are recycled the same as any other car's 12v batteries.

The big hybrid-traction battery in hybrids are nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. It has no heavy metals, so is rather non-toxic (unlike NiCd found in consumer electronics, or the traditional 12v Pb-A batteries found in traditional cars (and hybrids)). They have good battery management systems (unlike most consumer electronics) which extend their life. Full warranty on these batteries vary by manufacturer, but in the US it starts at 8 years/80,000 miles and can go up to 10 years/150,000 miles on batteries on AT-PZEV models in CA-emissions states.

I know at least Toyota/Lexus is offering a $200 bounty on each hybrid battery, to make sure that it gets properly recycled. Labels are also on the batteries with contact information for proper recycling. However, with the recent rise in price of nickel, you may actually make more out of selling it for scrap metal recycling... (Assuming that you do not sell a working battery from a wreck on eBay or such...) Not that I've heard of many hybrid battery packs needing replacement, in or out of warranty...

In case you haven't seen it yet, here is the 2004 Prius' Green Report (includes a life cycle assessment).
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/k_forum/tenji/pdf/pgr_e.pdf
(I don't know why you'll need to download the Japanese fonts to view the PDF, as the entire report is in English...)

Over the lifespan of the Prius, when compared to a comparable mid-sized gasoline vehicle, the Prius comes out ahead in the life cycle 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).


Sadly, none of the currently available hybrids are grid-chargeable, so your question about power companies just shows that you are ill-informed about hybrids (which may come from the poorly researched media). (Hybrids get their electricity through wasted energy when coasting/braking, and from excess power generated from the gasoline engine.) Usually at night, power plants have excess capacity (hence the cheaper costs), so grid-charging at night would help to level their loads. It's also easier to regulate emissions from one source rather than thousands of privately-owned vehicles.

Depending on the source for electricity in your area, a BEV may or may not put out more greenhouse gas emissions than a 55MPG HEV. Mainly, if the primary source for electricity in your area is coal, your 55MPG 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/pubs/resguide.pdf
http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/international/pdfs/hev_ev_ghgreductions.pdf
mainly section 4.3

You can view summary statistics about Electricity generation in the US (and in regions of the US) here:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html

Answer 2

Item #1
"I've read some articles about a problem with hybrids which the process used to make and dispose the batteries for these cars is just as bad for the enviornment as oil production."

Newer batteries made today are designed to be recyclable or non-toxic when placed in a landfill. Ok, sure there are resources/pollution involved in creating/recycling the batteries, but if you use your plug-in hybrid and save gas you are essentially offsetting those resources with saved energy which can certainly end up being net savings (depending on things such as the life of the vehicle).

Item #2
"Plus what the power companies burn up making the extra energy to charge your car at night is worse then what your average car burns off every day in gasoline."

An electric motor is very clean and efficient (can have upwards of 90-95% efficiency), and the electric power distribution grid is also quite clean and efficient (on the order of 90% efficiency). By comparison, the internal combustion engine is something like 20-30% efficient and the distribution system is a fleet of trucks to haul the gasoline around to stations. The overall efficiency is more in favor with electricity, thus allowing for less fuel to be burned for the same amount of driving.

So electrical power distribution is far more efficient, but what about the pollution issue? The dirty part of electric power comes from the coal, natural gas, oil or other fuel that is burned to create the energy necessary to generate the electricity. To a gas car's credit, emissions are reduced via several components such as the catalytic converter. Nevertheless, electric power doesn't always come from those fossil fuel sources since wind farms, hydro dams and solar panel arrays are other options. Furthermore, fossil fuel burning at a power plant is more concentrated pollution and thus easier to filter/regulate if need be. Its like asking whether its easier to regulate pollution at a million small pollution sources or a hundred or so larger ones.

So that is a synopsis of what I have gathered about the subject. Check out these two links below; heck the whole Tesla Motors website is very interesting reading. When battery technology improves, pure electric vehicles will be able to surpass gas vehicles in large number of ways, especially in efficiency. Hybrids and the upcoming plug-in hybrids are certainly a viable holdover until such electric vehicles can be mass-produced.

Answer 3

I think its a step in the right direction, but not the total answer. More work needs to be done on vehicles that do not pollute at all, and use ONLY renewable energy sources, such as sunlight.

The hybrids of today don't get plugged in, so that is not an issue, but they still burn fossil fuels and therefore add to pollution and dependence on oil. They get better gas mileage then a regular car, but not enough better to make much of a difference.

Answer 4

They can and will if the politicians get on board. At this point there is not much of an incentive to buy a hybrid because the cost is usually higher than a normal gas guzzler.

The government can change this by implementing tax credits for those willing to buy hybrids but unless the voters put pressure on the politicians they will abide by the oil companies who can afford lobbyists who ultimately form legislation with oil company dollars.

Answer 5

Hybrids do save some fuel, but they are only presently an expensive transition to the next chapter after the M.E. oil and the oil shale in Colorado and Utah runs out around 2080

Answer 6

No, but they do save on your gas bill. Unfortunately, their base price is so high, your monthly payment difference will make up for the gas savings.

Answer 7

There is a benefit. Any way to improve gas mileage helps.

Answer 8

its a start

Answer 9

I think so.!