Prismatic-cell battery pack with integral coolant channels

A prismatic-cell battery pack (10) is provided with integral coolant passages including an intake plenum (34), an exhaust plenum (36), and a distributed array of coolant channels (32a-32d) coupled between the intake plenum (34) and the exhaust plenum (36). Coolant medium forced into the intake plenum (34) enters the coolant channels (32a-32d) in parallel, draws heat away from the battery cells (26), and then enters the exhaust plenum (36) for expulsion into the atmosphere. The battery pack is configured as a set of stackable interlocking battery cell modules (14) including at least one battery cell (26) in thermal proximity to an array of coolant channels (32a-32d) distributed over the profile of the battery cell (26), and a pair of peripheral chambers (28, 30) joined to opposite ends of the coolant channels (32a-32d) to form the intake and exhaust plenums (34, 36) when the modules (14) are arranged and interlocked in a lineal stack (12).