<p>A battery (10) suitable for hybrid vehicle use that includes coolant flow channels overlying a surface (26) of each battery cell (16) forming the battery (10), and a plenum (14) that provides structural integrity to the battery (10). The plenum (14) also defines an intake plenum (38) having an intake cross section area (54) that decreases as a distance (58) from an intake opening (28) increases and an exhaust plenum (40) having an exhaust cross section area (56) that increases as a distance (60) from an exhaust opening (32) decreases. The arrangement of battery cells (16) and the plenum (14) provide for a scalable battery (10) design that can be readily adapted to various battery (10) power ratings and cooling capabilities such as forced air cooling.</p>
