Battery for a motor vehicle and method for operating a battery

A battery for a motor vehicle, comprising:

• a plurality of cell blocks, each cell block formed by connecting a plurality of battery cells in parallel,
• wherein each battery cell of each plurality of battery cells comprises a battery cell housing with electric terminals by which each plurality of battery cells are electrically connected to one another;
• wherein each of the battery cell housings contain therein a galvanic cell and a cell branch which connects the galvanic cell to the electric terminals;
• wherein each cell branch has a switching element for opening and closing the cell branch;
• wherein the battery has a control device which is configured to actuate the switching elements of the cell branches as a function of a performance requirement of an electric drive of the motor vehicle;
• wherein, for each of the plurality of cell blocks, in at least one of the plurality of battery cells, a bypass branch is arranged in the battery cell housing for bridging the galvanic cell, the bypass branch comprising a bridging switching element for opening and closing the bypass branch;
• and
• wherein, for bridging all of the plurality of cell blocks, for each of the plurality of cell blocks, the control device is configured to open all the switching elements and to close the at least one bridging switching element.