Rayovac Introduces First Mercury Free Battery for Cochlear Implants

November 2011

Rayovac has expanded its range of mercury free hearing aid batteries with a new specialist product for those with severe hearing problems.

The Rayovac cochlear mercury free is designed for cochlear implant wearers and offers up to 45 per cent more power than the company's existing standard cochlear product - Rayovac cochlear advanced, introduced in 2007.

The new battery - the world's first mercury free cochlear battery - combines the highest environmental standards with the best performance. It is introduced at a time when a premium is being placed on sustainability and several US states have banned the use of mercury in button cell batteries.

The battery has been developed alongside Rayovac's standard mercury free product as part of a multi million pound plant and technology development project and incorporates a new and improved cathode formulation.

Rayovac has recently been recognised for its groundbreaking work in developing mercury free hearing aid batteries with a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category as well as 2 international Stevie Awards including the top honour of Environmental Responsibility Program of the Year in Canada and U.S.A. Mercury (a heavy metal) has traditionally been used in small amounts in hearing aid batteries as a stabiliser. Rayovac has been able to replace this with cleaner materials and production processes.

In addition to the extra power, the new battery has a higher voltage of 1.45v. Testing has also shown the Rayovac cochlear mercury free battery to be longer lasting, with a higher capacity and improved quality and reliability. The high performance batteries are designed specificially for cochlear implants and satisfy the demands of high drain cochlear device users.

Vince Armitage, Rayovac divisional vice president for Europe, Middle East and Asia said: "We're delighted to add the cochlear mercury free to our growing family of non-mercury batteries. It's a greener and better battery and the world's first zero mercury product for cochlear implant wearers.

"It's taken us a while to fine tune the product but we now have a battery that's the first of its kind on the market and performing very well. It's rewarding to see our new technology recognised by the Innovation prize in this year's Queen's Award for Enterprise."

A recent report by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programe (AMAP) highlighted that global mercury emissions could increase by up to 25 per cent by 2020 if no action is taken to control them. Battery manufacturing is currently ranked fourth in terms of mercury emissions across all products worldwide.

Removing all mercury from hearing aid batteries would prevent 6,500 kg of mercury - or the equivalent of 15,000 footballs - being released into the atmosphere each year.

Vince added: "Going mercury free is absolutely the right thing to do. It's good for the environment, it's what consumers want and we have the battery technology to make it happen.