A battery module comprising: a plurality of carrier assemblies stacked on top of one another to form a cell stack, each carrier assembly comprising: a thermally conductive backing plate preferably comprising an aluminum plate, and a frame integrally formed therewith, the frame comprising a liquid coolant-receiving channel extending around at least a portion of a perimeter of the backing plate; and a battery cell disposed on a front surface of the backing plate, and comprising a compressible foam sheet disposed in front of the battery cell, the battery cell having a positive current collector tab and a negative current collector tab extending from the battery cell, wherein, apart from the current collector tabs having the most positive and most negative terminals in the cell stack, each one of the current collector tabs is paired with and connected to a current collector tab of opposite polarity in a battery cell of an adjacent carrier assembly; and a plurality of compression bars, preferably made of a thermally conductive material such as copper, each compression bar placed over a corresponding pair of connected current collector tabs and adapted to maintain electrical contact between the paired tabs and remove heat therefrom. a plurality of carrier assemblies stacked on top of one another to form a cell stack, each carrier assembly comprising: a thermally conductive backing plate preferably comprising an aluminum plate, and a frame integrally formed therewith, the frame comprising a liquid coolant-receiving channel extending around at least a portion of a perimeter of the backing plate; and a battery cell disposed on a front surface of the backing plate, and comprising a compressible foam sheet disposed in front of the battery cell, the battery cell having a positive current collector tab and a negative current collector tab extending from the battery cell, wherein, apart from the current collector tabs having the most positive and most negative terminals in the cell stack, each one of the current collector tabs is paired with and connected to a current collector tab of opposite polarity in a battery cell of an adjacent carrier assembly; and a thermally conductive backing plate preferably comprising an aluminum plate, and a frame integrally formed therewith, the frame comprising a liquid coolant-receiving channel extending around at least a portion of a perimeter of the backing plate; and a battery cell disposed on a front surface of the backing plate, and comprising a compressible foam sheet disposed in front of the battery cell, the battery cell having a positive current collector tab and a negative current collector tab extending from the battery cell, wherein, apart from the current collector tabs having the most positive and most negative terminals in the cell stack, each one of the current collector tabs is paired with and connected to a current collector tab of opposite polarity in a battery cell of an adjacent carrier assembly; and a plurality of compression bars, preferably made of a thermally conductive material such as copper, each compression bar placed over a corresponding pair of connected current collector tabs and adapted to maintain electrical contact between the paired tabs and remove heat therefrom. <EOS>