Nickel metal hybrid batteries, also known as nickel metal hydride batteries (NiMH), are commonly found in many of today's hybrid vehicles. A nickel metal hydride battery is a type of rechargeable battery which makes use of a hydrogen absorbing alloy for negative electrodes. Here are a few things you should know about nickel metal hydride batteries.
There are differences between types of metal hybrid batteries. Because nickel metal hydride batteries use hydrogen rather than cadmium for absorbing negative electrodes, they offer far greater energy capacity than nickel cadmium batteries. In fact, a nickel metal hydride battery can store up to three times the energy capacity of equivalent size nickel cadmium battery. This results in far less recharging, which helps to conserve electricity.
Nickel metal hydride batteries do not use toxic cadmium which can seriously harm our environment. And also, the nickel used in nickel metal hydride batteries is easily recycled and removed from the batteries. All experts agree that NiMH batteries are considerably greener than their nickel cadmium counterparts.
NIMH batteries are far less expensive when compared to other battery types, such as: nickel cadmium batteries and lithium ion batteries. Also, because they outperform alkaline batteries in many hydrating applications, they are considered to be a very good value for a recharging battery type. When you consider that nickel metal hydride batteries have a much longer shelf life than even higher energy density lithium ion batteries, and the cost benefits of NIMH batteries are evident as well.
