Battery assembly including cell strip array and method

1. A battery assembly, comprising:

a layer of electrolyte provided by a single, continuous layer of material;

a plurality of first electrodes arranged on a first side of the layer of electrolyte;

a plurality of second electrodes arranged on a second side of the layer of electrolyte;

a plurality of battery cells each including a portion of the layer of electrolyte, one of the first electrodes, and one of the second electrodes;

wherein the first electrodes include a plurality of anodes and a plurality of cathodes,

wherein the second electrodes include a plurality of anodes and a plurality of cathodes, and

wherein each of the cells includes an anode arranged on one of the first and second sides and a cathode arranged on the other of the first and second sides.

2. The battery assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the layer of electrolyte is provided by a layer of electrically insulative and ionically conductive material.

3. The battery assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrodes are mounted to the layer of electrolyte.

4. The battery assembly as recited in claim 3 , wherein:

adjacent oppositely-charged pairs of the first electrodes are electrically coupled together by metal foil mounted to the first electrodes, and

adjacent oppositely-charged pairs of the second electrodes are electrically coupled together by metal foil mounted to the second electrodes.

5. The battery assembly as recited in claim 4 , further comprising:

a second layer of electrolyte covering the second electrodes and the metal foil mounted to the second electrodes.

6. The battery assembly as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

a first carrier strip, the first electrodes supported on the first carrier strip; and

a second carrier strip, the second electrodes supported on the second carrier strip.

7. The battery assembly as recited in claim 6 , wherein the first and second electrodes have widths substantially equal to widths of the first and second carrier strips and a width of the layer of electrolyte.

8. The battery assembly as recited in claim 6 , wherein:

adjacent oppositely-charged pairs of the first electrodes are electrically coupled together by metal foil mounted to the first carrier strip, and

adjacent oppositely-charged pairs of the second electrodes are electrically coupled together by metal foil mounted to the second carrier strip.

9. The battery assembly as recited in claim 6 , wherein the first and second carrier strips are provided by separate pieces of material.

10. The battery assembly as recited in claim 6 , wherein the first and second carrier strips are provided by a single piece of material that is folded along its length.

11. The battery assembly as recited in claim 6 , wherein the first and second carrier strips are made of a material that is neither electrically nor ionically conductive.

12. The battery assembly as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

a metal foil layer configured to conduct heat away from the battery cells.

13. The battery assembly as recited in claim 12 , further comprising:

a spool, wherein the battery assembly is wrapped around the spool.

14. The battery assembly as recited in claim 13 , wherein the spool is one of circular and triangular in cross-section.

15. The battery assembly as recited in claim 13 , further comprising:

a thermal exchange plate adjacent the spool, the thermal exchange plate coupled to the metal foil layer.

16. A method, comprising:

arranging a plurality of first electrodes on a first side of a layer of electrolyte;

arranging a plurality of second electrodes on a second side of the layer of electrolyte; and

sandwiching the layer of electrolyte between the first and second electrodes to provide a plurality of battery cells along a length of the layer of electrolyte;

wherein the first electrodes include a plurality of anodes and a plurality of cathodes,

wherein the second electrodes include a plurality of anodes and a plurality of cathodes, and

wherein each of the cells includes an anode arranged on one of the first and second sides and a cathode arranged on the other of the first and second sides.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 , further comprising rolling the sandwiched arrangement about a spool.

18. The method as recited in claim 16 , further comprising cooling the sandwiched arrangement using a thermal exchange plate.

19. The method as recited in claim 16 , further comprising arranging the battery cells either in series or in parallel.