INTELLIGENT THERMAL BARRIER AND METHOD

1 . A battery module comprising:

a stack of battery cells located within a module housing;

a thermal barrier between at least two cells in the stack of battery cells, the thermal barrier including at least an isolation layer;

at least one sensor;

a cooling plate adjacent the isolation layer wherein the at least one sensor is partially embedded within the thermal barrier, the at least one sensor having a surface in contact with the cooling plate; and

a module cover enclosing the stack of battery cells within the module housing.

2 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a gas sensor, a gas pressure sensor, or combinations thereof.

3 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is embedded in the isolation layer.

4 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is adjacent the isolation layer.

5 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the thermal barrier further comprises a structural component coupled to an aerogel in the isolation layer.

6 . The battery module of claim 5 , wherein the at least one sensor is on the structural component.

7 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is a wireless sensor.

8 . The battery module of claim 1 , further comprising one or more wires extending from the at least one sensor out of the isolation layer to convey signal to and from the sensor.

9 . The battery module of claim 8 , wherein the one or more wires are embedded in the isolation layer.

10 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is partially embedded within the thermal barrier, the at least one sensor having a surface in contact with one of the stack of battery cells.

11 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is partially embedded within the thermal barrier, the at least one sensor having a surface facing away from one of the stack of battery cells.

12 - 13 . (canceled)

14 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the thermal barrier further comprises a conductive layer.

15 . The battery module of claim 14 , wherein the at least one sensor is partially embedded within the isolation layer, the at least one sensor having a surface in contact with the conductive layer.

16 . The battery module of claim 14 , wherein the conductive layer comprises a thermally conductive material.

17 . The battery module of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a sensor sheet.

18 . The battery module of claim 17 , wherein sensor sheet comprises power channels connecting to the sensors.

19 . The battery module of claim 17 , wherein the sensor sheet comprises a plurality of sensors, and wherein the sensor sheet is configured to allow mapping of one or more parameters across a surface of the sensor sheet.

20 . The battery module of claim 17 , wherein the sensor sheet comprises at least a portion that extends past the thermal barrier and adjacent battery cells from the stack.

21 . The battery module of claim 20 , wherein the portion of the sensor sheet comprises one or more moisture sensors, gas sensors, gas pressure sensor, or combinations thereof.

22 . The battery module of claim 17 , wherein the sensor sheet comprises a printed circuit board.

23 . The battery module of claim 17 , wherein the sensor sheet comprises at least one sensor at each corner of the sensor sheet.

24 . The battery module of claim 17 , wherein the sensor sheet comprises at least one sensor on each side of the sensor sheet.

25 . A thermal barrier for use in a battery module, the thermal barrier comprising:

an isolation layer comprising an aerogel, the isolation layer configured to thermally isolate individual battery cells within the battery module;

a pressure sensor at least partially within the thermal barrier; and

a cooling plate coupled to the isolation layer, wherein the pressure sensor is at least partially embedded in the isolation layer adjacent the cooling plate.

26 . The thermal barrier of claim 25 , wherein the pressure sensor is embedded in the isolation layer.

27 . (canceled)

28 . The thermal barrier of claim 25 , further comprising a conductive layer coupled to the isolation layer, wherein the pressure sensor is embedded within the thermal barrier between the conductive layer and the isolation layer.

29 . The thermal barrier of claim 25 , wherein the pressure sensor is wireless.

30 . A battery management system comprising:

a battery module comprising a stack of battery cells located within a module housing, and a thermal barrier between at least two cells in the stack of battery cells, the thermal barrier including at least an isolation layer and a sensor sheet partially embedded in the thermal barrier, the sensor sheet extending past the thermal barrier and at least one battery cell in the stack

wherein the sensor sheet comprises one or more moisture sensors, gas sensors, gas pressure sensor, or combinations thereof; and

a controller configured to interface with the sensor embedded in the thermal barrier, the controller including a processor and a memory including instructions which, when executed cause the processor to:

receive a signal from the sensor;

interpret the signal from the sensor to determine whether a predetermined condition is met; and

present an alert if the predetermined condition is met based on the interpreted sensor signal.

31 . The system of claim 30 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to automatically execute an action based on the alert.

32 . The system of claim 30 , wherein interpreting the signal comprises comparing the signal to historical data.

33 . The system of claim 30 , wherein the predetermined condition comprises thermal runaway.

34 . The system of claim 30 , wherein presenting the alert comprises providing a warning to a user on a user interface.

35 . (canceled)