When asked about the BMU's location, Thales responded that the closer the BMU is to the cells it is monitoring, the better.
When asked if there was any benefit to having the BMU external to the containment vessel, Thales responded that the BMU is isolated somewhat from the cells themselves in the containment vessel (even more so, now, in the new design) and they felt that having the BMU inside the containment box was the logical way to proceed because it prevented a failure risk due to connection problems.
The decision to place the BMU in the containment box was made by Thales and GS Yuasa.
EDIT: Thales is recapping their statement and noted that the BMU has thermal disconnects so it sounds like even if the cells enter thermal runaway and damage the BMU, these disconnects would trip and kills electricity flow to and from the cells in the battery pack.
Last edited by Kiskaloo; 23rd Apr 2013 at 19:53.