WO2024120865A1

WO2024120865A1 - A battery assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2024120865A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/083131
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rodyn GILHARRY; Csaba Dobi; Gabriele RIVA
Original assignee: Northvolt Ab
Priority date: 2022-12-07
Filing date: 2023-11-27
Publication date: 2024-06-13
Also published as: SE2251432A1

Abstract

A battery assembly includes: a plurality of cylindrical battery cells arranged in rows; a plurality of cooling barriers that are positioned between rows of the cylindrical battery cells and a cooling plate The cooling barriers each include a conduit that extends between a first opening at a first end and a second opening at a second end, within the thickness of the cooling barrier. The cooling plate is on top of the cylindrical battery cells and comprises: a first port; a second port; a first manifold that provides a fluidic connection between the first port and the first openings in each of the cooling barriers; and a second manifold that provides a fluidic connection between the second port and the second openings in each of the cooling barriers. The first and / or the second manifold includes flow channels that extend along the cooling plate between its respective port and the associated openings in each of the cooling barriers.

Description

A BATTERY ASSEMBLY

Field

The present disclosure relates to a battery assembly and, in particular, to a battery assembly comprising a plurality of cooling barriers and a cooling plate.

Summary

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a battery assembly comprising: a plurality of cylindrical battery cells arranged in rows; a plurality of cooling barriers that are positioned between rows of the cylindrical battery cells, wherein each cooling barrier includes: a first opening at a first end, a second opening at a second end, and a conduit that extends between the first opening and the second opening within the thickness of the cooling barrier; and a cooling plate that is on top of the cylindrical battery cells, such that it is in a plane that is parallel with end surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells, wherein the cooling plate comprises: a first port; a second port; a first manifold that provides a fluidic connection between the first port and the first openings in each of the cooling barriers; and a second manifold that provides a fluidic connection between the second port and the second openings in each of the cooling barriers; wherein the first and / or the second manifold includes flow channels that extend along the cooling plate, in the same direction as the rows of cylindrical battery cells, between its respective port and the associated openings in each of the cooling barriers.

Advantageously, coolant that is provided to the first port or the second port of such a battery assembly can be used to cool both the top surfaces and the side surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells. Each of the plurality of cooling barriers can include: a first cavity at the first end, wherein the first cavity extends from the first opening in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate, and wherein the conduit extends radially outwards from the first cavity; and a second cavity at the second end, wherein the second cavity extends from the second opening in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate, and wherein the conduit extends radially outwards from the second cavity.

The cooling plate and the cooling barriers can be configured such that: coolant enters or exits the first cavity in each of the cooling barriers from or to the cooling plate in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate; and / or coolant exits or enters the second cavity in each of the cooling barriers to or from the cooling plate in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate.

Each of the plurality of cooling barriers can include a plurality of conduits that extend between the first cavity and the second cavity within the thickness of the cooling barrier.

The plurality of conduits can be parallel with each other.

The cooling plate or the plurality of cooling barriers can comprise: a plurality of first spigots extending between the first manifold and each of the first openings in the plurality of cooling barriers, wherein each of the first spigots provides a fluidic connection between the first manifold and the first opening in the associated cooling barrier; and / or a plurality of second spigots extending between the second manifold and each of the second openings in the plurality of cooling barriers, wherein each of the second spigots provides a fluidic connection between the second manifold and the second opening in the associated cooling barrier. The cooling plate can comprise: a plurality of first spigots extending from the first manifold, one for each of the first openings in the plurality of cooling barriers, wherein each of the first spigots provides a fluidic connection between the first manifold and the first opening in the associated cooling barrier; and / or a plurality of second spigots extending from the second manifold, one for each of the second openings in the plurality of cooling barriers, wherein each of the second spigots provides a fluidic connection between the second manifold and the second opening in the associated cooling barrier.

Each of the first and second spigots can include a compressible seal that provides a fluid-tight seal between the cooling plate and respective first and second openings in the plurality of cooling barriers.

The battery assembly can further comprise a frame. The cooling plate can be mechanically attached to the frame by one or more connectors adjacent to the location one or more of the first spigots and the second spigots such that the connectors apply a compression force to the compressible seals associated with each of the first and second spigots.

The one or more connectors can pass through the thickness of the cooling plate. The one or more connectors can be bolts.

The battery assembly may further comprise a layer of thermally conductive potting between the cooling plate and the top surfaces of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells.

The battery assembly may further comprise an electrical assembly between the cooling plate and the top surfaces of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells. The electrical assembly can provide electrical connections to the plurality of cylindrical battery cells.

The electrical assembly can comprise openings through with the thermally conductive potting can flow. The first and / or the second manifold can include flow channels that extend along substantially the entire length of the cooling plate.

The first port and the second port of the cooling plate can be adjacent to each other.

The first port and the second port of the cooling plate can be both located at the same end of the cooling plate.

The plurality of cooling barriers can be attached to the adjacent rows of cylindrical battery cells by thermally conductive adhesive.

The battery assembly can further comprise a plurality of thermal barriers that are positioned between rows of the cylindrical battery cells.

The cooling barriers and the thermal barriers can be positioned between alternate rows of the cylindrical battery cells.

The battery assembly may comprise a battery module sub-assembly, a battery module or a battery pack.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail.

The figures and Detailed Description that follow also exemplify various example embodiments. Various example embodiments may be more completely understood in consideration of the following Detailed Description in connection with the accompanying Drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

One or more embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure la shows an example embodiment of a battery assembly according to the present disclosure;

Figure lb shows an exploded view of the battery assembly of Figure la;

Figure 2 shows how two of the rows of cylindrical battery cells are attached together to form a stack of cylindrical battery cells;

Figure 3 shows a close-up view of one end of a stack of two rows of cylindrical battery cells;

Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view through the first end of the cooling barrier that is shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5a shows a partially exploded view of seven stacks of cylindrical battery cells;

Figure 5b shows the seven stacks of cylindrical battery cells of Figure 5a combined together to provide a block of cylindrical battery cells;

Figure 6 shows the block of cylindrical battery cells of Figure 5 located within a frame;

Figure 7a shows a top view of the cooling plate of Figures la and lb; and

Figure 7b shows a bottom view of the cooling plate of Figures la and lb.

Detailed Description

Figure la shows an example embodiment of a battery assembly 100 according to the present disclosure. Figure lb shows an exploded view of the battery assembly 100 of Figure la.

The battery assembly 100 includes a plurality of cylindrical battery cells 101 arranged in rows. In this example, the rows extend along the longer dimension of the battery assembly 100. There are fourteen rows of cylindrical battery cells 101 shown in Figure lb.

The battery assembly 100 also includes a cooling plate 102, which is on top of the cylindrical battery cells 101. The cooling plate 102 is in a plane that is parallel with end surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells 101. These end surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells 101 are upper surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells 101 as they are shown in Figure lb. The cooling plate 102 includes a first port 103 and a second port 104. As will be discussed in detail below, one of the first port 103 and the second port 104 can be used as an inlet port for receiving liquid coolant for cooling the cylindrical battery cells 101, and the other of the first port 103 and the second port 104 can be used as an outlet port through which liquid coolant can exit the battery assembly 100. In some examples, the direction of coolant flow through the battery assembly 100 can be reversed such that the first port 103 alternates between being an inlet port and an outlet port. Similarly, the second port 104 would alternate between being an outlet port and an inlet port.

The battery assembly 100 also includes an electrical assembly 106 between the cooling plate 102 and the top surfaces of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells 101. The electrical assembly 106 provides electrical connections to the plurality of cylindrical battery cells 101.

The battery assembly 100 also includes a layer of thermally conductive potting 105 between the cooling plate 102 and the top surfaces of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells 101. The thermally conductive potting 105 can be provided as any thermally conductive adhesive or encapsulant. Example materials for the potting 105 can be based on many different chemistries such as Urethane, Polyurethane, epoxy, acrylic, and silicone/silanes as non-limiting examples. It is advantageous for the potting 105 to be thermally conductive such that it can transfer heat from the cylindrical battery cells 101, especially the upper, end, surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells 101, to coolant that is flowing through the cooling plate 102. Also, beneficially, the potting 105 can remove heat from the electrical assembly 106. Further details of the coolant flow path will be provided below. Beneficially this can improve the thermal connection between the cylindrical battery cells 101 and the cooling plate 102, and also between the electrical assembly 106 and the cooling plate 102. Also, in some examples the potting 105 can be provided as a liquid that has a viscosity that is suitable for the particular application. The material of the potting 105 can be selected such that it has a viscosity that prevents it from flowing down holes smaller than 1mm in diameter, for instance. As an example, the viscosity of the potting 105 can be in the range of 1,500 mPas to 100,000 mPas. In this example, the electrical assembly 106 includes cut outs / openings that enable the potting 105 to flow through the electrical assembly 106 in order to further increase the thermal connection between the cylindrical battery cells

101 and the cooling plate 102. The potting 105 can also flow into any openings between the top surfaces of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells 101. However, when a material with a suitable viscosity is used for the potting 105, the general tightness of the assembly can prevent the potting 105 from flowing too deeply around the cylindrical battery cells.

A further advantage of the potting 105 is that it can enhance the structural integrity of the battery assembly 100.

The potting 105 in this example is an electrical insulator. Therefore, it beneficially also acts to electrically insulate bus bars in the electrical assembly 106 from the cooling plate 102. In order to assemble the battery assembly

100, the electrical assembly 106 can be attached to the cylindrical battery cells

101, the potting 105 can be poured on top, and then the cooling plate 102 can be fitted on top of the electrical assembly 106. In this example, bolts 108 are located through holes 109 in the cooling plate 102 and secured to a frame 107 of the battery assembly 100 in order to mechanically attach the cooling plate

102 to the frame 107.

Figure 2 shows how two of the rows of cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b are attached together to form a stack 215 of cylindrical battery cells. The stack 215 includes a cooling barrier 210 and a thermal barrier 216. As will be discussed below, a plurality of stacks 215 can be combined in a battery assembly such as the one that is shown in Figure 1.

The cooling barrier 210 is positioned between two rows of the cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b. In some examples, a cooling barrier 210 can also be referred to as a cooling snake. Each cooling barrier 210 includes: a first opening 211 at a first end 212 of the cooling barrier 210; and a second opening 213 at a second end 214 of the cooling barrier 210. The cooling barrier 210 has a longitudinal dimension, that corresponds with a longitudinal dimension of the rows of cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b. The first end 212 of the cooling barrier 210 is opposite to the second end 214 in the longitudinal dimension of the cooling barrier 210. In this way the first opening 211 in the cooling barrier 210 is adjacent to a first longitudinal end of the rows of cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b, and the second opening 213 in the cooling barrier 210 is adjacent to a second longitudinal end of the rows of cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b.

The cooling barrier 210 also includes a conduit (not shown in Figure 2; it will be described in more detail below with reference to Figure 4). The conduit extends between the first opening 211 and the second opening 213 within the thickness of the cooling barrier 210. In this way, the conduit can transport coolant along the entire length of the rows of cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b, thereby cooling the neighbouring cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b. The cooling barrier 210 in this example is attached to one or both of the adjacent rows of cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b by thermally conductive adhesive. This can achieve a good thermal connection between side surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b and the cooling barrier 210, thereby improving the ability of the cooling barrier 210 to cool the cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b.

The thermal barrier 216 is positioned on the outside surface of the stack 215 of cylindrical battery cells. The thermal barrier 216 is attached to one of the rows of the cylindrical battery cells 201b using adhesive 217 in this example. The thermal barrier 216 comprises a material having a thermal conductivity below a predetermined threshold. In one or more examples, the thermal barrier 216 may have a thermal conductivity of less than 0.3 W/mK. Put another way, the thermal barrier 216 is a thermal insulator configured to prevent the transfer of heat between adjacent stacks 215 of cylindrical battery cells. The thermal barrier 216 may comprise mica, which is typically used for such thermal barriers.

It will be appreciated from the description that follows that, when multiple stacks 215 are combined to provide a block of cylindrical battery cells, the thermal barriers 216 will be located between rows of the cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b. In this example, the cooling barriers 210 and the thermal barriers 216 are positioned between alternate rows of the cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b. In this way, a cooling barrier 210 is used to cool the rows 201a, 201b that are in the same stack 215; that is, the rows of cylindrical battery cells 201a, 201b that are immediately adjacent to the cooling barrier 210. However, each stack 215 is thermally insulated from a neighbouring stack 215 by a thermal barrier 216.

Figure 3 shows a close-up view of one end of a stack 315 of two rows of cylindrical battery cells 301a, 301b. A first end 312 of a cooling barrier 310 can also be seen. A first opening 311 is provided at the first end 312 of the cooling barrier. Coolant can enter or exit the cooling barrier 310, through the first opening 311, in a direction that is parallel with a longitudinal dimension of the cylindrical battery cells 301a, 301b. This direction is also perpendicular to the plane of a cooling plate (not shown) when it is connected to the cooling barrier 310.

Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view through the first end of the cooling barrier 410 that is shown in Figure 3. The first opening 411 is shown at a top side of the first end. The first opening 411 provides an aperture into a first cavity 418. As shown in Figure 4, the first cavity 418 extends from the first opening 411 in a direction that is parallel with a longitudinal dimension of the associated cylindrical battery cells (not shown in Figure 4). As indicated above, this direction is also perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate.

Figure 4 also shows a first end of thirteen conduits 419 that extend from the first cavity 418 (and therefore also extend from the first opening 411 of the cooling barrier 410) within the thickness of the cooling barrier 410. The conduits 419 are spaced apart from each other in a direction that is parallel with the longitudinal dimension of the associated cylindrical battery cells. The conduits 419 extend into the page, as it is shown in Figure 4, to a corresponding second cavity at the second end of the cooling barrier 410. The second end of the cooling barrier 410 has the same structure as the first end that is shown in Figure 4. The conduits 419 therefore also extend (via a second cavity) to the second opening at the second end of the cooling barrier 410. The first cavity 418 has a frustoconical shape in this example, although it will be appreciated that it can take any other shape including a cylinder, a cuboid or any irregular shape. In this example, the conduits 419 extend radially outwards from the first cavity 418 (although not necessarily from the centre of the first cavity 418, in which case they can be considered as extending tangentially from the first cavity 418) such that they continue within the thickness of the cooling barrier 410, along the longitudinal dimension of the cooling barrier 410.

Although thirteen parallel conduits 419 are shown in Figure 4, it will be appreciated that the cooling barrier 410 can include any number of conduits 419, which may be one or a plurality of conduits 419, that extend between the first cavity 418 and the second cavity such that coolant can flow past the side surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells in order to cool them.

Also in this example, as best seen in Figure 2, the thickness of the cooling barrier is substantially the same along the length of the cooling barrier between the first end and the second end. As also shown in Figures 2 and 3, the position of adjacent rows of cylindrical battery cells are offset from each other in a longitudinal direction by a distance that is equal to about the radius of a single cylindrical cell, plus a distance to account for any gap between adjacent cells, in this example. This enables the lateral width of a stack of battery cells to be kept to a minimum, because the cylindrical battery cells in one row can slot into the gaps between the cylindrical battery cells in the neighbouring row. As a result, the cooling barrier that is located between adjacent rows of cylindrical battery cells in this example has a serpentine shape, when considered between the first end to the second end (when considered from above for the orientation of the cylindrical battery cells as they are shown in the drawings). Such a serpentine shape increases the surface contact between the cooling barrier and the side surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells, for a cooling barrier that has a uniform thickness along its length, and therefore improves the ability of the cooling barrier to remove heat from the cylindrical battery cells. The serpentine shape can also be considered as being corrugated. However, it will be appreciated that in other examples the cooling barrier does not have to have a uniform thickness along its length. Nor do adjacent rows of cylindrical battery cells need to be offset from each other in the longitudinal direction of the rows, such that the cooling barrier does not have to have a serpentine shape.

Figure 5a shows a partially exploded view of seven stacks 515a - 515g of cylindrical battery cells. Figure 5b shows the seven stacks 515a - 515g of cylindrical battery cells of Figure 5a combined together to provide a block 520 of cylindrical battery cells. The seven stacks 515a - 515g of cylindrical battery cells can be attached to each other using adhesive 521.

As shown in Figure 5b, the block 520 of cylindrical battery cells includes:

• seven first openings 511a - 511g, at the first ends of each of the stacks 515a - 515g of cylindrical battery cells; and

• seven second openings 513a - 513g, at the second ends of each of the stacks 515a - 515g of cylindrical battery cells.

Figure 6 shows the block of cylindrical battery cells 620 of Figure 5 located within a frame 607. The frame 607 includes a plurality of connector receiving holes 622a - 622g, each of which is for receiving a connector (such as the bolts that are shown in Figure 1) for attaching the cooling plate to the frame 607. Advantageously, as will be discussed below, these connector receiving holes 622a - 622g are located adjacent to the first openings 611a - 611g in the first ends of the cooling barriers. Although not shown in Figure 6, it will be appreciated that the frame 607 can include connector receiving holes located adjacent to the second openings at the other end of the block of cylindrical battery cells 620.

Figure 7a shows a top view of the cooling plate 702 of Figures la and lb. In this way, Figure 7a shows an outer surface of the cooling plate 702 when it is fully assembled as part of the associated battery assembly.

Figure 7b shows a bottom view of the cooling plate 702 of Figures la and lb. In this way, Figure 7b shows an inner surface of the cooling plate 702 when it is fully assembled as part of the associated battery assembly. The cooling plate 702 of Figures 7a and 7b is located on top of the block of cylindrical battery cells 620 and frame 607 of Figure 6. Therefore, the inner / lower surface of the cooling plate 702 (as it is shown in Figure 7b) is closest to the block of cylindrical battery cells 620 and frame 607 of Figure 6, with the thermally conductive potting 105 and the electrical assembly 106 of Figure 1 therebetween.

The cooling plate 702 includes a first manifold 723 and a second manifold 724, as well as a first port 703 and a second port 704 as described above. The first manifold 723 provides a fluidic connection between the first port 703 and the first openings in each of the cooling barriers (not shown in Figures 7a and 7b, although they are shown in Figure 6 with references 611a - 611g). In this example, this fluidic connection is provided by a plurality of first spigots 728a, 728b that extend from the lower surface of the cooling plate 702 such that they extend into the first openings in each of the cooling barriers when the battery assembly is assembled. Each of the first spigots 7285a 728b extends from the first manifold 723 such that it provides a fluidic connection between the first manifold 723 and the first opening in the associated cooling barrier. There is one first spigot 728a, 728b for each of the first openings in the plurality of cooling barriers. The locations of the first spigots are identified in Figure 7a with references 727a - 727g, even though they are not visible in Figure 7a because they are on the other side of the cooling plate 702.

Each of the first spigots 728a, 728b includes a compressible seal 729a, 729b that provides a fluid-tight seal between the cooling plate 702 and the respective first openings in the cooling barriers when the battery assembly is assembled. In addition, or alternatively, the first openings can have compressible seals for improving the sealing between the cooling plate 702 and the cooling barriers.

As indicated above, the cooling plate 702 is mechanically attached to the frame 607 of Figure 6 by one or more connectors, which in this example are bolts. Use of the bolts is beneficial for ensuring good thermal contact between the cooling plate 702, the potting (not shown in Figure 7a), and the cylindrical battery cells (also not shown in Figure 7a). In this way, the use of mechanical fixings ensures good wetting between the potting material and the cooling plate 702.

The bolts are provided at locations that are adjacent to the locations one or more of the first spigots 728a, 728b such that securing the bolts also applies a compression force to the compressible seals 729a, 729b associated with each of the first spigots 728a, 728b. This compression force further assists in providing a fluid-tight seal between the cooling plate 702 and the cooling barriers. The bolts pass through the thickness of the cooling plate 702, through holes 709 in the cooling plate 702 in this example, and are secured in the connector receiving holes 622a - 622g in the frame 607, as shown in Figure 6.

The second manifold 724 provides a fluidic connection between the second port 704 and the second openings in each of the cooling barriers. The second manifold 724 functions in a similar way to the first manifold 723, and will not be described in the same level as detail as the first manifold 723. The second manifold 724 includes a plurality of second spigots (not shown) that extend from the second manifold 724, one for each of the second openings in the plurality of cooling barriers. Each of the second spigots provides a fluidic connection between the second manifold 724 and the second opening in the associated cooling barrier. The locations of the second spigots are identified in Figure 7a with references 726a - 726g, even though they are not visible in Figure 7a because they are on the other side of the cooling plate 702. The second spigots and / or the associated second openings in the cooling barrier can also include compressible seals that are similar to those described for the first spigots and the first openings of the cooling barrier.

In an alternative implementation, each of the cooling barriers can include a first and / or a second spigot that extend into the first and / or second manifolds. That is, the spigots can be provided as parts of the cooling barriers instead of the cooling plate (as shown in Figure 7b).

In a yet further example, the energy density of a battery assembly can be increased even further by packaging two battery modules, one on top of the other, that share the same cooling plate, as part of the same battery assembly. In which case, the cooling plate can have spigots on both faces of the cooling plate such that they can extend into cooling barriers both above and below the cooling plate (when considered in the orientation of the cooling plate that is shown in Figures la and lb).

In the example of Figures 7a and 7b, the second manifold 724 includes flow channels 725 that extend along the cooling plate 702, in the same direction as the rows of cylindrical battery cells (not shown). The flow channels 725 extend between the second port 704 and the associated openings in each of the cooling barriers (as represented by the locations of the second spigots that are shown in Figure 7a with references 726a - 726g). In this way, irrespective of which of the first port 703 and the second port 704 are used as an inlet port, coolant is provided past the cylindrical battery cells: in a first direction that is parallel with the rows of cylindrical cells; and in a second direction that is also generally parallel with the rows of cylindrical cells, but is opposite to the first direction. One of these directions involves coolant flowing through the conduits in the cooling barriers. The other of these directions involves coolant flowing through the flow channels 725 in the cooling plate 702. It will be appreciated that flow channels 725 in the cooling plate 702 do not need to extend in a direction that is parallel with the rows of cylindrical battery cells; they could extend in a diagonal direction that includes a component that is parallel with the rows of the cylindrical cells. Furthermore, the flow channels 725 may have some portions that extend in the same direction as the rows of cylindrical battery cells and some other portions that do not extend in the same direction as the rows of cylindrical battery cells. Such "other portions" may be perpendicular to the direction of the rows of cylindrical battery cells. In any case, the associated battery assembly includes a combination of a top cooling plate with a cooling barrier / snake cooling running between the cells to provide side cooling. Therefore, counter-flow of coolant can be provided, which can improve the cooling effect on the cylindrical battery cells. Such an improvement can include a reduction in any temperature gradient over the battery assembly and / or can reduce the overall temperature gradient within one cell.

In this example, the flow channels 725 extend along substantially the entire length of the cooling plate 702, although in other examples this need not be the case. The flow channels 725 in this example are provided as a plurality of longitudinally extending fingers, one for each of the second openings in the cooling barrier. Each of the flow channels 725 opens into a channel connection region 730 of the second manifold 724. The channel connection region 730 of then provides the fluidic connection to the second port 704. However, it will of course be appreciated that the second manifold 724 can have different structures and still provide cooling to the top surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells.

The first port 703 and the second port 704 are adjacent to each other in this example. This can be beneficial in terms of the ease with which coolant can be provided to and from the first and second ports 703, 704. Another benefit is that this can result in there being only a single flow direction of coolant in the cooling plate 702. In Figure 7a, the first port 703 and the second port 704 are both located at the same end of the cooling plate. However, in other examples one or both of the first port 703 and the second port 704 could be located partway along the longitudinal length of the cooling plate 702. Furthermore, the first port 703 and the second port 704 could be spaced apart from each other along the length of the cooling plate 702.

As a yet further alternative, the first manifold 723 can include flow channels that extend along the cooling plate 702, in the same direction as the rows of cylindrical battery cells, between the first port 703 and the associated first openings in each of the cooling barriers. This can be instead of, or in addition to, the flow channels 725 of the second manifold 724 that are shown in Figure 7a.

For the examples that are described herein, the cooling plate 705 and the cooling barriers are configured such that: coolant enters or exits the first cavity in each of the cooling barriers to or from the cooling plate 702 in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate 702; and coolant exits or enters the second cavity in each of the cooling barriers from or to the cooling plate 702 in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate 702. This can enable a compact battery assembly to be provided, especially in terms of the footprint of the battery assembly when it is viewed from above, as it is shown in the drawings.

Claims

1. A battery assembly comprising: a plurality of cylindrical battery cells arranged in rows; a plurality of cooling barriers that are positioned between rows of the cylindrical battery cells, wherein each cooling barrier includes: a first opening at a first end, a second opening at a second end, and a conduit that extends between the first opening and the second opening within the thickness of the cooling barrier; and a cooling plate that is on top of the cylindrical battery cells, such that it is in a plane that is parallel with end surfaces of the cylindrical battery cells, wherein the cooling plate comprises: a first port; a second port; a first manifold that provides a fluidic connection between the first port and the first openings in each of the cooling barriers; and a second manifold that provides a fluidic connection between the second port and the second openings in each of the cooling barriers; wherein the first and / or the second manifold includes flow channels that extend along the cooling plate, in the same direction as the rows of cylindrical battery cells, between its respective port and the associated openings in each of the cooling barriers.

2. The battery assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cooling barriers includes: a first cavity at the first end, wherein the first cavity extends from the first opening in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate, and wherein the conduit extends radially outwards from the first cavity; and a second cavity at the second end, wherein the second cavity extends from the second opening in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate, and wherein the conduit extends radially outwards from the second cavity.

3. The battery assembly of claim 2, wherein the cooling plate and the cooling barriers are configured such that: coolant enters or exits the first cavity in each of the cooling barriers from or to the cooling plate in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate; and / or coolant exits or enters the second cavity in each of the cooling barriers to or from the cooling plate in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the cooling plate.

4. The battery assembly of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of cooling barriers includes a plurality of conduits that extend between the first cavity and the second cavity within the thickness of the cooling barrier.

5. The battery assembly of claim 4, wherein the plurality of conduits are parallel with each other.

6. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the cooling plate or the plurality of cooling barriers comprise: a plurality of first spigots extending between the first manifold and each of the first openings in the plurality of cooling barriers, wherein each of the first spigots provides a fluidic connection between the first manifold and the first opening in the associated cooling barrier; and a plurality of second spigots extending between the second manifold and each of the second openings in the plurality of cooling barriers, wherein each of the second spigots provides a fluidic connection between the second manifold and the second opening in the associated cooling barrier.

7. The battery assembly of claim 6, wherein each of the first and second spigots includes a compressible seal that provides a fluid-tight seal between the cooling plate and respective first and second openings in the plurality of cooling barriers.

8. The battery assembly of claim 6 or claim 7, wherein: the battery assembly further comprises a frame; the cooling plate is mechanically attached to the frame by one or more connectors adjacent to the location one or more of the first spigots and the second spigots such that the connectors apply a compression force to the compressible seals associated with each of the first and second spigots.

9. The battery assembly of claim 8, wherein the one or more connectors pass through the thickness of the cooling plate.

10. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a layer of thermally conductive potting between the cooling plate and the top surfaces of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells.

11. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising an electrical assembly between the cooling plate and the top surfaces of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells, wherein the electrical assembly provides electrical connections to the plurality of cylindrical battery cells.

12. The battery assembly of claim 11, when it depends from claim 10, wherein the electrical assembly comprises openings through with the thermally conductive potting can flow.

13. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the first and / or the second manifold includes flow channels that extend along substantially the entire length of the cooling plate.

14. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the first port and the second port of the cooling plate are adjacent to each other.

15. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the first port and the second port of the cooling plate are both located at the same end of the cooling plate.

16. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of cooling barriers are attached to the adjacent rows of cylindrical battery cells by thermally conductive adhesive.

17. The battery assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a plurality of thermal barriers that are positioned between rows of the cylindrical battery cells.

18. The battery assembly of claim 17, wherein the cooling barriers and the thermal barriers are positioned between alternate rows of the cylindrical battery cells.