Abstract: A battery cell circuit provides a battery cell having a positive terminal and a negative terminal, and bypass circuitry for allowing current to flow around the battery cell should it fail open. The bypass circuitry includes a first plurality of diodes connected in series between the positive terminal and the negative terminal, with those diodes connected with their forward direction from the positive terminal to the negative terminal, to provide a path for charging current around an open circuit battery cell. Two series sets of parallel diodes are connected between the negative terminal and the positive terminal, with their forward direction from the negative terminal to the positive terminal to provide a bypass path for discharge current to flow around the battery cell in the event if fails open and the bypass circuitry is preferably packaged in a hermetically sealed hybrid module.