Are Hybrid and Electric

cars as good for the

environment as you think?
JONATHAN PLAXTON AND BAILEY GOODSON
What is a Hybrid Car?

A vehicle is a hybrid if it utilizes more than one form of onboard energy to

achieve propulsion. In practice, that means a hybrid will have a
traditional internal-combustion engine and a fuel tank, as well as one or
more electric motors and a battery pack. Edmunds.com

Fig. 1. Toyota Prius

(Courtesy of Autoblog.com) Fig. 2. McLaren P1
(CarandDriver.com)
Plugin Hybrid vs Hybrid Electric

Fig. 3. Types of Hybrids

(Courtesy of Fleetcarma.com)
How do Hybrids work?

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T5ShFUkeFA
Electric Cars

EVs use a battery to store the electric energy that powers the motor. EV
batteries are charged by plugging the vehicle into an electric power
source. EVs are sometimes referred to as battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
(http://www.afdc.energy.gov/)

Fig. 6. Tesla Model x

(Courtesy of Tesla.com)
Alternative Energy Vehicles

More than a dozen alternative fuels are

in production or under development for
use in alternative fuel vehicles and
advanced technology vehicles.
Government and private-sector vehicle
fleets are the primary users of these fuels
and vehicles, but consumers are
increasingly interested in them. Using
alternative fuels and advanced vehicles
instead of conventional fuels and vehicles
helps the United States reduce petroleum
use and vehicle emissions. -
www.afdc.energy.gov

Fig. 7. Propane Police car

(Courtesy of City of Raleigh Online)
Officially Recognized Alternative
Energy by US Government

Fig. 8. Types of Alternative Energy

(Courtesy of http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/)
Major Causes of Emissions in Vehicles

Production
Use and Energy consumption
Disposal

Fig. 9. Smoke Stacks

(Courtesy of Clipartfest.com)
Production

Experts estimate that 10 to 20 percent of a vehicle's total lifetime

greenhouse gas emissions are released during the manufacturing stage
alone [source: California Energy Commission].
Toyota admits that the production of its lightweight Prius requires more
energy and emits more carbon dioxide than the production of its gas-only
models [source: Williams]. The major reason is because hybrids like the
Prius include more advanced components than a conventional car,
including a second electric motor and heavy battery packs.
Driving and Energy
Production
CO2 Emissions from a gallon
of gasoline: 8,887 grams
CO2/ gallon
In addition to carbon
dioxide (CO2), automobiles
produce methane, and
nitrous oxide from the
tailpipe and
hydrofluorocarbon
emissions from leaking air
conditioners. The emissions
of these gases are small in
comparison to CO2;
however, the impact of
these emissions can be
important because they Fig. 10. Avg Emissions
have a higher global (Courtesy of Unionofconcernedscientists.com)
warming potential (GWP)
than CO2. (epa.gov)
Disposal
Most of the body and
drivetrains can be
recycled.
Tires, batteries, tubing,
and interior are sent to
the landfill.
Fuel and lubricants are
usually recycled or
disposed off.

Fig. 11. Car Recycling

(Courtesy of http://autorecyclers.blogspot.com)
The Difference

DUST TO DUST is the method of looking at a item and its production from
raw materials to when it returns to raw materials, completely disposed of,
or is ready to be recycled.

Fig. 12. Prius vs Hummer

(Courtesy of Carfixtips.com)
Electric Cars Are Just
as Good as the
Power They Use
Electric cars take their
power from the local
grid.
Depending on where
the car is charged the
emissions could vary.

Fig. 13. State Avg of Power)

(Courtesy of EPA.com)
Hybrid Production

Toyota admits that the production of its lightweight Prius requires more
energy and emits more carbon dioxide than the production of its gas-only
models. The major reason is because hybrids like the Prius include more
advanced components than a conventional car, including a second
electric motor and heavy battery packs.

Fig. 14. Prius and Corolla

(Courtesy of Toyota.com)
Battery Production

The battery contains nickel, which is mined in Ontario Canada. The plant
that smelts this nickel is apparently nicknamed "the Superstack" because
of the amount of pollution it puts out; the area for miles around it is a
wasteland because of acid rain and air pollution.
That smelted nickel then is transported (via container ship) to Europe to be
refined, then to China to be made into "nickel foam," then to Japan for
assembly, and finally back to the United States.
 Path of
Fig. 15 . Open Pit Mine
(Courtesy of GPS World)
Fig. 16. Battery Factory
(Courtesy of Hybridcars.com)
a Hybrid
Battery

Fig. 17. Lithium Refinery Fig. 18. Container Ship

(Courtesy of CleanTechnica.com) (Courtesy of Grist.com)
Electric
Batteries
The 85 kWh battery pack
weighs 1,200 lb (540 kg)
and contains 7,104
lithium-ion battery cells
in 16 modules wired in
series (14 in the flat
section and two stacked
on the front). Each
module contains 6
groups of 74 cells wired
in parallel; the 6 groups
are then wired in series
within the module. As of
June 2012, the battery
pack used modified
Panasonic cells with
nickel-cobalt-aluminum
cathodes. Fig. 19. Battery of Hybrid
(Courtesy of Tesla.com)
Disposal of Batteries
Mark Caffarey, executive vice president of North American operations for
Belgium-based metals recycling giant Umicore has been raising awareness of
the back log of large vehicle batteries building.
The government still considers all vehicle batteries landfill safe.
No method of recycling current types battery exists or is being implemented.

Fig. 20.
(Courtesy of Soundernews.com)
Disposal: Gas vs Hybrid

While most of the metals and plastics used to manufacture conventional

cars are recycled into other items and even cars, hybrid cars have some
systems and equipment that cant be recycled.
Older hybrid electric batteries cannot currently be recycled and have to
be disposed of in land fills. These extra steps lead to a higher amounts of
harmful gasses and waste produced over the course of the vehicles life.
One or the
Other
Most professionals say
that because a hybrid
vehicle has both
propulsion systems, its
better to drive either a
clean gasoline car or
an electric car.

Fig. 21. Environmental Footprint Over Time

(Courtesy of DERFA)
VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQLbakWESkw
 Fig. 22. Chevy Malibu) Fig. 23. Toyota Prius Fig. 24. Porsche 918 Fig. 25. Honda CRZ
(Courtesy of Chevy.com) (Courtesy of Toyota.com) (Courtesy of Porsche.com) (Courtesy of Honda.com)

Which has the highest MPGs?

Its the
Porsche 918
This performance
hybrid has a whopping
887 HP
0-60 MPH in 2.2 secs
0-100 MPH in 4.9 secs
0-170 MPH in 14.4 secs
It gets 78 MPG!!

Fig. 26. Porsche 918

(Courtesy of Porsche.com)
Are all Hybrids Bad?

Since the introduction of the mainstream hybrid car (late 1990s) it has
been improved on as a way to get better fuel economy and reliability.
Porsche, McLaren, and Ferrari have recently developed new
technologies that have greatly improved the hybrid car market.
Recent improvements in battery technology and Electric motors have
made it plausible to equip supercars with these hybrid technologies.
With these larger companies (Volkswagen Group and Fiat Automotive)
involved in hybrid research, technologies are evolving quickly.
Should we Abandon Hybrid Designs?

Newer types of batteries are being tested that use carbon instead of
heavy metals to hold a charge.
New methods of reusing older batteries are being experimented with so
we can reuse all the batteries currently in use.
More clean energy plants are opening, 60% of NCs energy is considered
clean
Take Away Message

Just because a company says their product is green doesnt mean that
you should go out of your way to buy it.
Usually keeping what you have is better for the environment than buying
something new.

Questions?
Bibliography

http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/does-hybrid-car-production-waste-offset-hybrid-benefits2.htm

"Batteries for Hybrid and Plug-In Electric Vehicles." Alternative Fuels Data Center: Batteries for Hybrid and Plug-In Electric Vehicles. Accessed April 04,
2017.

"The electric cars arent green myth debunked." Shrinkthatfootprint.com. Accessed April 04, 2017. http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-
green.

Biello, David. "Electric Cars Are Not Necessarily Clean." Scientific American. May 11, 2016. Accessed April 04, 2017.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electric-cars-are-not-necessarily-clean/.

Berners-Lee, Mike, and Duncan Clark. "Manufacturing a car creates as much carbon as driving it." The Guardian. September 23, 2010. Accessed
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Voelcker, John. "Five Reasons Buying a Hybrid Prius Won't Save the Planet." Green Car Reports. Accessed April 04, 2017.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1052110_five-reasons-buying-a-hybrid-prius-wont-save-the-planet.

"Emissions Showdown: Toyota Prius vs HUMMER H2." Autobytel.com. Accessed April 04, 2017.
http://www.autobytel.com/toyota/prius/2009/reviews/emissions-showdown-toyota-prius-vs-hummer-h2-105357/.

J.O., Estima, and Marques Cardoso. Efficiency analysis of drive train topologies applied to electric/hybrid vehicles. Report. Electromech Engr,
University of Coimbra.

R, Suarez-Bertoa. Unregulated emissions from light-duty hybrid electric vehicles. Report. Sustainable Transport Unit, European Commission, Sustainable
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And many more..