Composite battery enclosure

1. A battery enclosure for a vehicle chassis comprising:

a base plate having an upper and lower surface and a plurality of edges;

an external support structure having an upper surface and a lower surface with a flange portion extending from a lower surface thereof, the external support structure disposed on an upper surface of the base plate and extending around a plurality of the base plate edges;

a battery tray having an upper and lower surface with a flange portion extending from an upper surface thereof and a plurality of edges, the battery tray disposed on an upper surface of the base plate and having a plurality of raised surface features on the upper surface outlining individual cells, each cell configured to receive at least one battery;

a lid having an upper and lower surface, the lid disposed on the flange of the battery tray; and

wherein the external support structure is disposed below the battery tray flange and extends around a plurality of the battery tray edges.

2. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the raised surface features of the battery tray includes solid beams.

3. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the base plate, external support structure, battery tray and/or lid is composed of composite materials.

4. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the upper surface of the lid is coupled to a vehicle chassis.

5. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the flange of the external support structure extends laterally outward from a vertical sidewall of the external support structure.

6. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the external support structure includes at least one corner joining node between adjacent linear beams.

7. The battery enclosure of claim 6 , wherein the corner joining node has an arcuate surface.

8. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the individual cells include a plurality of symmetric cells.

9. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein a seal is formed between the lid and the battery tray.

10. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein a seal is formed between the battery tray and the external support structure.

11. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein a seal is formed between the external support structure and the base plate.

12. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the flange of the external support structure extends outward a first distance, and the battery tray flange extends outward a second distance.

13. The battery enclosure of claim 12 , wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance.

14. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the lid engages with the raised surface features of the battery tray to form at least one closed volume cell.

15. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the external support structure forms a load-bearing structure.

16. The battery enclosure of claim 15 , wherein the upper surface of the load-bearing structure engages the lower surface of the battery tray flange.

17. The battery enclosure of claim 1 , wherein each of the lid, battery tray, external support structure and base plate are formed as a hexagonal shape.

18. The battery enclosure of claim 17 , wherein a front edge and a rear edge are parallel.

19. The battery enclosure of claim 17 , wherein a front edge has a length less than a length of the rear edge.

20. The battery enclosure of claim 17 , wherein the flange of the external support structure extends from a only five sides of the battery enclosure.