hybrid parts pollute more when made?

It can't be the engine or tranny since they've been made for 100 years and the Prius simply is an adaptation of prior technology. A particularly remarkable adaptation I might add.

This article could only apply to the batteries. Batteries generally are made of toxic substances and need to be disposed of separately. I have a little box at home for "spent" batteries that is now full so I need to find out where to take them. They should not go into landfills.

The same is true of car batteries though the Prius design is less toxic than most from what I've read.

But even with this toxicity, Toyota already has an entire system in place to totally recycle these batteries. I've read that close to 98% of our Prii batteries can be re-used and there is already a market for them. And the small amount that this 2% amounts to has got to be massively less than the tons of particulate matter that spills out of other cars over their lifetime.

I've also read that the system that Toyota has in place for old batteries is dormant. Very close to zero batteries have shown up yet, even those with 400,000 miles on them.


Is it just me or does there seem to be a concerted effort to discredit the Prius? I keep reading articles about how this or that is bad or a waste or impractical about the Hybrid. Yet every one of those articles turn out to be bunk.

Are the "big three" and the oil industry REALLY that afraid of the hybrid?

Oh and starla30, that's a great avatar.

 

They are probably referencing a Toyota Document that has been the subject of much debate and 'spin' on other forums.

The data is in a bunch of places, but the Toyota "Green Report" seems to be the one people latch onto.

It shows that, because the Prius has more components, particularly Electric Motor/Generators and Batteries, its production produces more pollution than an "ICE Only" car.

It also shows that in a life-cycle analysis, including emissions during use, and recovery via recycling, the Prius produces signficantly less pollution over it's total lifetime.

I'll try to attach a PDF version of the report. Be aware that if you aren't running a full commercial version of Acrobat, you will probably have to download the Japanese Language Plug-In for Acrobat Reader to completely view it. It's in English, but many people have reported that it doesn't render correctly without the plug-in.

 

There are no toxic materials in the Prius traction battery. It is 100% recyclable. And that idle plant is waiting for batteries to wear out so that it can recycle them and make new batteries out of them. Looks like it's going to have a long wait. These batteries are lasting longer than anyone expected.

In addition, many of the components are biodegradable or recycleable.

At 50 mpg and 200,000 miles total life, a Prius will burn 4,000 gallons of fuel in its lifetime. If the fleet average is 25 mpg then the Prius uses half the gas and saves 4,000 gallons over it's lifetime.

It seems very unlikely that the Prius requires 4,000 gallons of extra fuel to manufacture, over the manufacturing energy of another car. That would be $8,000 in energy alone, on a car with a base price of $20K.

Anyone who thinks that nearly half the value of the car is in additional manufacturing energy probably doesn't know how to play with numbers.

 

there are toxic chemicals in the traction battery but who would throw away an item that can be recycled for a significant amount of cash?

also keep in mind that it is illegal to toss batteries and the traction battery is big enough that it maybe detected.

ive heard figures as high as $500 to recycle other somewhat comparable batteries.

that is another reason why i dont think much for ford half hearted attempt to bring a hybrid to market. with their 200+ D cell traction battery makeup, it seems that they are almost encouraging people to illegally dump batteries into our landfill.

after all, how far out of ones way is the average person going to go to replace a half dozen D cells? or even 2 dozen of em???

not far i bet. however faced with a $4000 investment and an easy way to reduce that bill by $500 makes me think not many of Priuses traction batteries will make it to the landfill. i would be shocked to see fords batteries fare as well.

 

Fords battery design is nothing out of the ordinary. The Classic Prius utilizes a similar design in its traction battery. Th cartridges are a new design as part of the new hybrid system.

 

square/rectangular as opposed to round. That's the "higher density" sales pitch of the 2k4. Same tech. Different shape. But that said the smaller the better.