Battery base plate under construction

The base plate for the 72V battery pack is being built from different steel materials that I had available. Most of the base plate is done using 25 x 25 mm steel square tube that is cut and welded. A tight place is made for each of the cells and the cells are fixed on their placed by pressing them against the base plate with a threaded rod and a wing nut.

The cells are slightly separated from each other to allow a better airflow which improves cooling. While the maximum continuous current of 160A is drawn from the battery pack every cell dissipates approximately 20W of power according to my interpretion of the datas given by the cell manufacturer Winston. If the cells would be tightly packed next to each other I would be worried that the ones in the middle of the pack would overheat. After getting the Corolla on the road it will be necessary to learn how the batteries, motor and the motor controller heat up so that any unpleasant suprises due to overheating could be avoided.