# US 10,770,744 B2 · Lithium ion battery module with cooling system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,770,744 B2 - Document ID: US10770744B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/551,690 - Filed: 2016-02-18 - Published: 2018-01-25 - Granted: 2020-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2015-02-18 - Assignees: Sterling PBES Energy Solution Ltd. - Applicants: Ttb Holding Company Limited - Inventors: Johannes Christian Kruger; Brent Anthony Perry - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10770744B2 ## CPC - H01M 10/0481: {Compression means other than compression means for stacks of electrodes and separators} - H01M 10/613: Cooling or keeping cold - H01M 10/647: Prismatic or flat cells, e.g. pouch cells - H01M 10/6554: Rods or plates - H01M 10/6556: Solid parts with flow channel passages or pipes for heat exchange (closed pipes H01M10/6552) - H01M 10/6567: Liquids - H01M 10/6568: characterised by flow circuits, e.g. loops, located externally to the cells or cell casings - H01M 10/052: Li-accumulators - H01M 10/0585: of accumulators having only flat construction elements, i.e. flat positive electrodes, flat negative electrodes and flat separators - H01M 50/209: adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells (H01M50/216 takes precedence) - H01M 50/505: comprising a single busbar - Y02E 60/10: Energy storage using batteries - Y02P 70/50: Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product - H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract Apparatus, methods and systems are provided for cooling high power batteries. A plurality of carrier assemblies is stacked to form a cell stack. Each carrier assembly has a thermally conductive backing plate and a frame integrally formed therewith. A lithium-ion pouch cell (having a pair of cell tabs) is adhered to a front surface of the backing plate. Each cell tab is paired with a tab of opposite polarity of an adjacent battery cell. Thermally conductive compression bars are placed over the paired tabs to maintain electrical contact between the tabs. The compression bars also transfer heat to a cooling plate on top of the cell stack. Each carrier assembly incorporates a heat spreader sheet on a surface of the battery cell, a compressible foam sheet in front of the heat spreader sheet, and a thermally isolating sheet in front of the foam sheet. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A battery module comprising: a plurality of carrier assemblies stacked on top of one another to form a cell stack, each carrier assembly comprising: a thermally conductive backing plate extending between opposing first and second side edges and opposing top and bottom edges; a frame integrally formed with the thermally conductive backing plate and extending from one or more of the first and second side edges and the top and bottom edges, the frame comprising a liquid coolant-receiving channel extending around at least a portion of a perimeter of the backing plate, the perimeter defined by the first and second side edges and the top and bottom edges; and a battery cell disposed on a front surface of the backing plate, and comprising a compressible foam sheet disposed in front of the battery cell, the battery cell having a positive current collector tab and a negative current collector tab extending from the battery cell, wherein, apart from each endmost current collector tab in the cell stack, each one of the current collector tabs is paired with and connected to a current collector tab of opposite polarity in a battery cell of an adjacent carrier assembly; and a plurality of compression bars, each compression bar placed over a corresponding pair of connected current collector tabs and adapted to maintain electrical contact between the paired tabs and remove heat therefrom. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein in each carrier assembly, the battery cell is attached to a front surface of the backing plate by way of compression provided by the compressible foam sheet. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein each carrier assembly comprises a heat spreader sheet disposed between the battery cell and the foam sheet. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The battery module according to claim 3 wherein in each carrier assembly, the heat spreader sheet comprises a flexible graphite sheet. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The battery module according to claim 3 wherein in each carrier assembly, the heat spreader sheet extends to and contacts the frame. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein in each carrier assembly, the liquid coolant-receiving channel extends adjacent to the first side edge, the bottom edge and the second side edge of the backing plate. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein in each carrier assembly, the frame comprises a pipe and a bore of the pipe provides the liquid coolant-receiving channel. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The battery module according to claim 7 wherein in each carrier assembly, the pipe is formed of stainless steel and/or copper. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein in each carrier assembly, the backing plate comprises an aluminum plate. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein each carrier assembly comprises a thermally isolating sheet disposed in front of the foam sheet. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The battery module according to claim 10 wherein in each carrier assembly, the thermally isolating sheet comprises a ceramic sheet. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 comprising a plurality of electrically isolating bars, each electrically isolating bar adapted to support a pair of connected current collector tabs, wherein the connected current collector tabs are folded over the electrically isolating bar. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein the compression bars are made of a thermally conductive material. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The battery module according to claim 13 wherein the compression bars are made of copper. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 comprising an upper cooling plate placed over the compression bars, the cooling plate disposed perpendicularly to the cell stack and extending between front and rear ends of the cell stack. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The battery module according to claim 15 comprising at least one thermal gap pad disposed underneath the cooling plate for compressing the compression bars and transferring heat from the compression bars to the cooling plate. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein the carrier assemblies are stacked with alternating polarities so that positive and negative current collector tabs are reversed with respect to those of an adjacent carrier assembly. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein in each carrier assembly, the battery cell comprises a flat battery cell. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The battery module according to claim 18 wherein in each carrier assembly, the battery cell comprises a lithium-ion pouch cell. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein each carrier assembly comprises a tongue extending from one side of the carrier assembly and a groove defined in the opposite side of the carrier assembly, wherein to form the cell stack, the tongue of one carrier assembly is inserted into the corresponding groove of an adjacent carrier assembly. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The battery module according to claim 1 wherein the cell stack comprises 24 carrier assemblies. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) A battery bank comprising at least two battery modules according to claim 1, wherein the battery modules are connected together in series. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The battery bank according to claim 22 comprising between two and 30 battery modules. ### Claim 24 A method of manufacturing a battery cell carrier assembly, comprising: integrally forming a base structure having a thermally conductive backing plate and a frame, the frame comprising a liquid coolant-receiving channel extending around at least a portion of a perimeter of the backing plate; placing a battery cell on a front surface of the backing plate; adhering a heat spreader sheet to a front surface of the battery cell; and adhering a compressible foam sheet to a front surface of the heat spreader. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The method according to claim 24 wherein the backing plate comprises opposing first and second side edges and opposing top and bottom edges, the method comprising forming the liquid coolant-receiving channel such that the channel extends adjacent to the first side edge, the bottom edge and the second side edge of the backing plate. ### Claim 26 (depends on 24) The method according to claim 24 wherein the heat spreader sheet comprises a flexible graphite sheet. ### Claim 27 (depends on 24) The method according to claim 24 comprising insert casting a pipe into the frame, wherein a bore of the pipe provides the liquid coolant-receiving channel. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The method according to claim 27 wherein the pipe is stainless steel and/or copper, and the frame and backing plate are aluminum. ### Claim 29 (depends on 24) The method according to claim 24 comprising adhering a thermally isolating sheet to a front surface of the compressible foam sheet. ### Claim 30 (depends on 24) The method according to claim 24 wherein the battery cell is a lithium-ion pouch cell. ### Claim 31 (depends on 24) A method of manufacturing a battery module comprising: stacking, on top of one another so as to form a cell stack, a plurality of battery cell carrier assemblies manufactured according to claim 24; and placing a cooling plate on top of the cell stack, the cooling plate extending between front and rear ends of the cell stack. ### Claim 32 (depends on 31) The method according to claim 31 wherein stacking the plurality of carrier assemblies comprises stacking the carrier assemblies with alternating polarities so that positive and negative current collector tabs are reversed with respect to those of an adjacent battery cell carrier assembly. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The method according to claim 32 comprising, for each carrier assembly apart from the one that contains the most positive terminal in the cell stack, folding a negative current collector tab of the carrier assembly with a positive current collector tab of an adjacent carrier assembly over an electrically isolating bar to form a folded tab pair. ### Claim 34 (depends on 33) The method according to claim 33 comprising placing a compression bar over each of the folded tab pairs for compressing and maintaining electrical contact between the positive and negative current collector tabs in each of the folded tab pairs. ### Claim 35 (depends on 34) The method according to claim 34 wherein the compression bars are made of thermally conductive material. ### Claim 36 (depends on 35) The method according to claim 35 comprising placing at least one thermal gap pad underneath the cooling plate and against the compression bars so as to transfer heat from the compression bars to the cooling plate. ### Claim 37 (depends on 32) The method according to claim 32 comprising placing caps over adjacent terminal ends of the pipes of adjacent carrier assemblies so as to connect the pipes in series. ### Claim 38 A cell carrier for a battery cell, the cell carrier comprising: a thermally conductive backing plate for the battery cell and a frame integrally formed therewith, wherein the backing plate comprises opposing first and second side edges and opposing top and bottom edges, and wherein the frame comprises a liquid coolant-receiving channel extending adjacent to the first side edge, the bottom edge and the second side edge of the backing plate; a heat spreader sheet positioned over the backing plate, wherein the battery cell is disposed between the heat spreader sheet and the backing plate; and a compressible foam sheet adhered to the heat spreader sheet. ### Claim 39 (depends on 38) The cell carrier according to claim 38 wherein the compressible foam sheet is adapted to provide compression to attach the battery cell to the backing plate. ### Claim 40 (depends on 38) The cell carrier according to claim 38 comprising a thermally isolating sheet disposed in front of the foam sheet. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) The cell carrier according to claim 40 wherein the thermally isolating sheet comprises a ceramic sheet. ### Claim 42 (depends on 38) The cell carrier according to claim 38 wherein the heat spreader sheet comprises a flexible graphite sheet. ### Claim 43 (depends on 38) The cell carrier according to claim 38 wherein the heat spreader sheet extends to and contacts the frame. ### Claim 44 (depends on 38) The cell carrier according to claim 38 wherein the frame comprises a pipe, the pipe having a bore for receiving the liquid coolant. ### Claim 45 (depends on 44) The cell carrier according to claim 44 wherein the pipe is formed of stainless steel and/or copper. ### Claim 46 (depends on 38) The cell carrier according to claim 38 wherein the backing plate and the frame are formed of aluminum.