BATTERY WITH A BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, MULTIPLE CELL SUBSETS AND AN HERMETIC CASING

A battery cell core is hermetically sealed inside a casing, with conductive paths formed in the casing that individually connect cell subsets of the core to a battery management circuit for detecting individual failing cell subsets and for changing the battery output voltage by forming series/parallel connections between the cell subsets. In one version, the casing has a metal can with an opening of the can being sealed by a non-conductive cap that is sealed and bonded along its periphery to the can walls. In one aspect, the cap has edge metallization along its periphery where it is sealed to the can walls. In another aspect, the conductive paths are formed in the non-conductive cap. Various other embodiments are also described and claimed.