[Bazinga]

We’ve seen glimpses of the new Chevy Bolt’s powertrain but nothing too detailed, until now. A few pictured from General Motors have surfaced showing us the Chevy Bolt’s powertrain in great detail. They even have a comparison picture (the one above) of the two different Volt batteries, the Spark EV's battery, and the Bolt's.

Integration of these batteries have drastically improved from model to model and it’s interesting to see the batteries go from a centrally mounted ‘T’ shaped system to a flat one that also contributes to the torsional rigidity of the car. These flat landscape cells in the Bolt are bundled into 96 groups of three with 288 cells in each battery and they are all connected in a parallel formation. Right under the seat is where those cells are double stacked to make use of every little bit of space available.

On top of that, GM and LG Chem managed to increase the battery capacity to contain triple the amount of electricity the Spark could hold and with only twice the mass. The Bolt EV battery’s weight is 436 kg while the Spark EV’s is 215 kg.

Here’s a closer look the Bolt powertrain. The orange pack you see at the front of the car is actually what disconnects the power in the event of a collision to make it easier and safer for first responders. The main battery located under the floor is used strictly for propulsion and the accessories like radio, infotainment system, etc, is powered by a smaller 12-volt, lead-acid battery. Unfortunately, I don’t know where on the powertrain this smaller battery is located so if you know, feel free to point it out.

Admittedly, I’ve always wondered if Chevy could have squeezed in a few more battery packs under there but apparently that’s just not possible. The cells are already as tightly packed as possible and they even had to shift around a few components like charging modules and power distribution to get it this far. Anything more will have to come from improvements to the battery cell capacity. Here’s a front, rear and side diagram of the battery and it’s pretty tight in there.

 

[Dave B]

Thanks for the info Bazinga. It is interesting to see how the battery technology is developing.


Dave

 

[Roth33d]

Cooling was one thing I was always interested in seeing and this is a good way to put it although I will rather see a real working model as it gives a deeper understanding of what goes on and how we benefit more than other systems.

 

[Bazinga]

I don't think we'd be able to see it unless the battery packs were removed. The coolant is run through small metal plates under the modules so those plates will need to be switched out for see through plastic for a working model we can actually see in action.

I'd imagine it would look like a toilet constantly flushing blue liquid.

 

[LightningBolt]

If Chevy can't fit any more battery packs in the Bolt, think they'll come out with an electric SUV to fit more battery packs and have a longer drive range?

 

[Bazinga]

With a larger body and more battery packs, the car will use up more power to get it moving. Maybe one day when the battery cell capacity increase to hold more power in the same amount of cells.

Maybe on day Chevy will come out with a larger and more affordable electric vehicle to compete against the Model X.