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CREDIT: CATL
On December 24th, CATL officially launched the CATL Bedrock Chassis, a skateboard chassis capable of withstanding 120km/h frontal impact without catching fire or exploding.
With the battery-centered design, CATL's Bedrock Chassis utilizes Cell-to-Chassis integration technology, which directly integrates the battery cells into the chassis, allowing for a shared structural design between them. Based on the decoupling of the chassis from the upper body, the Bedrock Chassis is capable of absorbing 85% of the vehicle's collision energy (compared to around 60% absorbed by traditional chassis).
Through various technological breakthroughs, the Bedrock Chassis successfully passed the world's first "highest speed + strongest impact" dual extreme safety test. This achievement enables the chassis to pass the 120km/h frontal central pole impact test without catching fire, exploding, or thermal runaway.
Currently, the speed for frontal impact safety test in the commonly used C-NCAP (China New Car Assessment Program) is 56km/h, which, when experiencing a frontal impact at this speed, generates collision energy equivalent to falling from 12m-high building. In comparison, a frontal impact at 120km/h is equivalent to falling from a 56m-high building, generating a collision energy 4.6x that of collision at 56km/h.
In more stringent frontal pole crash tests, which simulate crashes with non-standard objects such as power poles, large trees, or animals, the impact area is only 1/6 of that in a full-width frontal impact, exponentially increasing impact pressure. At a speed of 120km/h, the impact pressure on the chassis per unit area in a frontal central pole impact is 21x that of the 56km/h full-width frontal impact in C-NCAP testing.
The CATL Bedrock Chassis introduces a three-dimensional biomimetic tortoise shell structure, where the body and energy unit framework are integrated, deeply coupled to provide the energy unit with extensive protection. Its aircraft carrier-grade arresting structure disperses impact forces across multiple pathways during a crash, gradually decelerating the vehicle and significantly reducing the depth and speed at which obstacles intrude the cabin. The utilization of submarine-grade hot-formed steel with a strength of 2000MPa, aerospace-grade aluminum alloy with a strength of 600MPa, and multiple barrier structures further enhance the chassis' rigidity.
Moreover, the CATL Bedrock Chassis incorporates an ultra-safe battery cell design, NP technology, and a high-ductility energy-absorbing insulation film. In terms of high-voltage disconnection, it achieves instantaneous disconnection of high voltage circuit within 0.01 seconds of impact and completes the discharge of residual high-voltage energy in the vehicle within 0.2 seconds.
The battery cells have undergone highly demanding tests, including high-speed sled impact tests at 60 km/h, 90° bending tests, and sawing tests. The battery did not catch fire or explode across all three tests.
Addressing the common pain points of high investment, long development cycles, and accelerated product iteration in the industry, the Bedrock Chassis incorporates three core characteristics: internal integration, decoupling of the chassis from the upper body, and external openness. With an array of toolkits and solution packages, it offers a scalable software and hardware architecture and standardized interfaces, enabling flexible configurations for different vehicle models and scenarios. This allows the realization of a "one chassis architecture, multiple vehicle models" concept and significantly improves development efficiency and shortens the R&D cycle. The time required for mass production of a vehicle is reduced from the traditional 36 months or longer to 12 to 18 months.
Furthermore, the Bedrock Chassis expands design flexibility through the decoupling of the chassis from the upper body. The fourth-generation Cell-to-Chassis (CTC) technology and inverted battery cell technology enhance the utilization of chassis space while reducing the risk of chassis scraping. Additionally, in terms of intelligence, the chassis supports mechanical decoupling, software decoupling, and EE decoupling, enabling L3 to L4 intelligent driving capabilities. It provides high adaptability interfaces and promotes collaborative intelligent applications.
At the launch ceremony, AVATR, the first automaker to use Bedrock Chassis, and CAIT-SH, CATL's skateboard chassis arm, signed an agreement to deepen cooperation on CATL's Bedrock Chassis to create a safer, higher-quality travel experience for users.
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