not true.
There's a lot of myth, urban legend, and misinformation out there on hybrid vehicle batteries and vehicle production. If you were to add up the amount of nickel in the million+ hybrids sold since 1997, the total is less
than 1% of the world's annual nickel production (far more nickel is used for stainless steel, for example).)
Hybrid battery replacements aren't all that common, and on some models very rare. (The NiMH 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 (Toyota is 8 years/100,000 miles, for example) and if an AT-PZEV model in a CA emission state (10 years/150,000 miles). Full warranty, NOT pro-rated. And the batteries are easily recycled, and contain no heavy metals, unlike the conventional 12v lead acid batteries found in every car.
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.
