Traditional vehicles impliment lead-acid batteries; hybrid cars typically incorporate a separate nickel metal hydride (called NiMH) or Lithium-ion (called Li-ion) battery to generate electric power.
The world's Number 1 hybrid car manufacturer, Toyota, announced it will launch the first recycling business for NiMH car batteries. The program will recover nickel in the packs to make new power sources. This should lower the production cost of future hybrid batteries.
Toyota will construct several recycling facilities with the help of Toyota Chemical Engineering to manage the nickel extraction and replacement. Their HV Call Center will inform consumers where to take their non-working batteries.
The timing is perfect, as Toyota offers an 8 to 10 year warranty on all batteries in hybrid cars. The Japanese auto maker estimates their batteries last up to 180,000 miles. This recycling program has been available in the company's home base of Japan since 1998.
In the US, lead-acid car batteries are a highly recycled material, with a 99.2% recycling rate in 2008. Many retailers accept old batteries when a new one is purchased. Most car batteries sold in the US have a large portion of recycled content, including lead and plastic casing.
Find out what else Toyota is up to by checking out Capitol Toyota - 2575 Mission St SE, Salem, OR 97302.
