A battery system having a cooling plate with a conduit therein is provided. The system further includes a battery module having first and second battery cells. The system further includes a compressor, and a condenser coupled between the compressor and the conduit of the cooling plate. The system further includes a microprocessor that determines a maximum temperature level of the first and second battery cells, and determines a target temperature level for the cooling plate based on the maximum temperature level. The microprocessor determines a temperature error value based on a difference between a temperature level and the target temperature level of the cooling plate, and determines a desired RPM value for the compressor based on the temperature error value.