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On 24 December, CATL unveiled its Bedrock chassis technology, which can withstand frontal impacts of up to 120 km/h. Using fourth-generation Cell-to-Chassis integration technology, Bedrock integrates battery cells directly into the chassis, enabling a structural design that offers greater crash protection. The separation of the chassis and upper body allows the device to absorb 85 percent of the vehicle’s impact energy, compared to 60 percent for conventional chassis. At the launch event, CATL signed a collaboration agreement with car manufacturer AVATR, which will be the first to use the technology in its vehicles.
The chassis structure is designed to resemble a turtle’s shell, with a three-dimensional design that provides maximum protection for the power unit, while the use of premium materials – a combination of 2,000 megapascal submarine-grade steel and 600 megapascal aerospace-grade aluminum alloy – ensures outstanding rigidity and durability. Ultra-safe battery technology and the use of high-conductivity energy-absorbing insulation film help the batteries operate without fire or explosion even under extreme conditions.
Thanks to various technological breakthroughs achieved by CATL researchers, Bedrock successfully passed a 120 km/h frontal pole impact safety test, redefining industry safety standards.
The chassis demonstrated its outstanding safety performance without fire or explosion during the extreme safety test, which, due to the extremely high impact speed and intensity, has never been undertaken by any vehicle powered by renewable energy sources before.
Bedrock not only redefines safety standards, but also opens up a new market segment that could greatly accelerate the move towards modular, personalised and intelligent car design. The challenges of high investment costs, long development cycles and accelerated product cycles are addressed by Bedrock technology through internal integration, chassis/overhead separation and a flexible development approach. This enables the “one chassis architecture, multiple vehicle models” concept, significantly improving development efficiency and reducing development cycle times. As a result, the time required to start series production of a vehicle at CATL is reduced from the traditional 36 months or more to 12-18 months.
Source and photo credit:dehir.hu
