New Hybrid Technologies on the Horizon
The 2012 Detroit Auto Show was knee deep in hybrid technology with the likes of Infiniti, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes debuting new production and concept vehicles. With luxury and exotic car makers jumping into the green technology game it can only mean one thing, green cars are poised to become mainstream. No longer is owning a hybrid the mark of being an old hippie or living in California … that’s right, driving a hybrid has become hip.
Yet it’s hard to be hip when the average price of a hybrid is thousands of dollars more than the sticker price of the regular old gas version. While we all know that the more expensive hybrid will save us money in the long run, especially with current gasoline rates, it’s hard for the average American to think about plunking down that kind of money … especially in our current economy. Part of the reason for this disparity in price between hybrid and gasoline powered cars comes down to the components of hybrid car batteries.
Hybrid car batteries are made from rare metals that are mined mostly in China. These rare metals, such as lanthanum and neodymium, are used in such large amounts that it keeps the price of the vehicles artificially high as the costs of the metals is passed on to the consumer. China reduced its rare earth minerals exports by 10 percent in the first quarter of 2011, thereby keeping the, market prices for these minerals artificially high.
According to Reuters, “Each electric Prius motor requires 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium, and each battery uses 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum.” It’s hard to think of a vehicle as truly being green when the mining practices in China are hardly up to environmental best practices.
Luckily automakers are investing in research to circumvent the necessity of these rare metals. Toyota, for instance, is developing an electric motor that doesn’t utilize these minerals. This new type of “induction motor” will be lighter and more efficient than current technologies. According to an article in the online daily newspaper dir.bg, in the next two years Toyota will begin actively producing this new generation of hybrid vehicles.
In doing so Toyota hopes to reduce the cost of the hybrid vehicle as well as break their dependence on China for rare earth minerals.
Comments are closed.