Motor vehicle traction battery module

A motor vehicle traction battery module 10 contained within a rigid housing 12 comprises a plurality of parallel plate / pouch battery cells 20, 20'. A plate shaped cooling structure 100 is positioned between cells 20, 20' to provide direct cooling by cooling liquid 41. Cooling structure 100 is compressible in a perpendicular to plane XZ/ transverse direction Y and itself comprises a plurality of rigid trench bodies 30, 30'. Each trench 30, 30' has an opening 38. A resilient trench body tensioning means 50, 150, possibly leaf-like resilient spring elements, is present to bias trench bodies 30, 30'in the transverse direction Y against cells 20, 20'. A resiliently compressible spacer 60 is positioned between two adjacent trench bodies 30, 30', thereby holding them laterally spaced apart. Trench depth in the transverse direction is no more than 80% of the spacer depth in the transverse direction. Hydraulic cooling capacity remains unchanged even with a compression of the cooling structure forced by an expansion of the battery cells.