A battery module, comprising: a cell stack having a first battery cell and a second battery cell; a first bus bar connected to the cell stack and having a first polarity; a second bus bar connected to the cell stack and having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity; a short-circuit unit configured to move toward the first bus bar and the second bus bar by receiving an expanding force caused by a volume increase of the first battery cell and the second battery cell so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are electrically connected to generate a short circuit; and a cartridge configured to at least partially accommodate the first bus bar, the second bus bar and the short-circuit unit, wherein at least one of the first bus bar and the second bus bar has a breaking portion (511, 521) that is broken when the short circuit occurs to block the short-circuit current, characterized in that the short-circuit unit includes: an elastic member having one end supported to an inner side of the cartridge and configured to store an elastic energy by being compressed in a direction away from the first and second bus bars; and a short-circuit terminal configured to move toward the bus bars when the elastic member is in a restored state so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are electrically connected, wherein the short-circuit terminal is provided at one side end of a slide bar and made of a conductive material, wherein a pair of stoppers is provided at the other side end of the slide bar and is caught by and fixed to the cartridge so that the elastic member keeps a compressed state and thus the slide bar keeps a state spaced apart from the first bus bar and the second bus bar, the cartridge having for each stopper a support portion formed so that the stoppers of the short-circuit unit are caught and fixed. a cell stack having a first battery cell and a second battery cell; a first bus bar connected to the cell stack and having a first polarity; a second bus bar connected to the cell stack and having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity; a short-circuit unit configured to move toward the first bus bar and the second bus bar by receiving an expanding force caused by a volume increase of the first battery cell and the second battery cell so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are electrically connected to generate a short circuit; and a cartridge configured to at least partially accommodate the first bus bar, the second bus bar and the short-circuit unit, wherein at least one of the first bus bar and the second bus bar has a breaking portion (511, 521) that is broken when the short circuit occurs to block the short-circuit current, characterized in that the short-circuit unit includes: an elastic member having one end supported to an inner side of the cartridge and configured to store an elastic energy by being compressed in a direction away from the first and second bus bars; and a short-circuit terminal configured to move toward the bus bars when the elastic member is in a restored state so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are electrically connected, an elastic member having one end supported to an inner side of the cartridge and configured to store an elastic energy by being compressed in a direction away from the first and second bus bars; and a short-circuit terminal configured to move toward the bus bars when the elastic member is in a restored state so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are electrically connected, wherein the short-circuit terminal is provided at one side end of a slide bar and made of a conductive material, wherein a pair of stoppers is provided at the other side end of the slide bar and is caught by and fixed to the cartridge so that the elastic member keeps a compressed state and thus the slide bar keeps a state spaced apart from the first bus bar and the second bus bar, the cartridge having for each stopper a support portion formed so that the stoppers of the short-circuit unit are caught and fixed.