In this work, a LiFePO4/graphite lithium-ion pouch cell with a rated capacity of 45Ah has been used and a two dimensional thermal model is developed to predict the cell temperature distribution over the surface of the battery, this model requires less input parameters and still has high accuracy. The used input parameters are the heat generation and thermal properties. The ANSYS FLUENT software has been used to solve the models. In addition, a new estimation tool has been developed for estimation of the thermal model parameters. Furthermore, the thermal behavior of the proposed battery has been investigated at different environmental conditions as well as during the abuse conditions. Thermal runaway is investigated in depth by the model. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.