[Colorado Cowgirl]

The battery-pack is harmful to the environment.

Thankfully, that’s not actually the case.

NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) is a benign substance. It can be recycled too. In fact, the guarantee for recycling is rather high, since nickel is a valuable metal. Misconceptions about rechargeable batteries stem from the obsolete NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) technology, which really was harmful.

Life-Expectancy is 10-12 years (roughly 150,000 to 200,000 miles), which is long enough to fulfill the needs of most owners.

Warranty is 8 years / 100,000 miles. So if replacement really is necessary beyond that time, production increases & competition should help to reduce the cost. Continued technology improvements in energy density could too. Additionally, the salvage market has already begun to emerge, allowing you to purchase a used battery-pack (or just some modules) recovered from a vehicle destroyed by an accident. The cost of replacement batteries is just under $4000.

[television is just wrong]

I was told that the battery manufacturing itself is a very dirty process. Very anti environmentally friendly.

[Rick_Michael]

And the same with the lithium ion batteries, which will likely be the new storage source.

“Lithium Ion batteries are classified by the federal government as non-hazardous waste and are safe for disposal in the normal municipal waste stream. These batteries, however, do contain recyclable materials and are accepted for recycling by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation’s (RBRC) Battery Recycling Program.”

[Caipirabob]

great info and thank you for posting that! : )

[Las Vegas Dave]

The cost of replacement batteries is just under $4000 (in 2006 dollars).

One must take this into consideration when purchasing a used hybred vehicle, and for the owner when selling his (unwanted) hybred vehicle.

[Old Professer]

Let that sucker set for a year without being used or charged and get back to me.