Chinese battery manufacturer CATL unveiled the Bedrock Chassis on Monday. This skateboard-style vehicle uses a cell-to-chassis design and can withstand a frontal collision of 120 km/h (75 mph).
Cell-to-chassis is a method of directly integrating battery cells into the chassis. CATL claims this can absorb 85% of the vehicle’s crash energy (the existing chassis absorbs about 60%).
CATL conducted extreme tests to prove this. It passed the frontal center pillar test at 120 km/h (75 mph) without fire, explosion, or thermal runaway. The frontal crash test speed of the C-NCAP commonly used in China is 56 km/h (35 mph).
A head-on collision at this speed generates the same crash energy as falling from a 12-m (472.4 inches) building. At 120 km/h (75 mph), a collision is equivalent to falling from a height of 56-m (2,204.7 inches). That’s 4.6 times higher than the C-NCAP figure.
The impact is greater when colliding with utility poles, large trees, and animals. The pressure increases exponentially when the effect is concentrated in one place. The frontal pole collision test conducted this time had an impact area of about 16.6% of the total width. The impact pressure in a 120 km/h (75 mph) collision is 21 times that of a 56 km/h (35 mph) full-width frontal collision in the C-NCAP test.
CATL also strengthened battery cell safety. It integrated ultra-safe battery cell design, NP technology, and a highly flexible energy-absorbing insulating film. Regarding high-voltage separation, it achieved instantaneous separation of the high-voltage circuit within 0.01 seconds after impact. It completed the vehicle’s residual high-voltage energy discharge within 0.2 seconds.
The battery cells have undergone stringent tests, including a 60 km/h (37 mph) high-speed sled impact test, a 90-degree bending test, and a breakthrough sawing test. No fire or explosion occurred during the tests.
CATL also said it could produce multiple vehicles with a single chassis architecture and shorten development. It said the time required for mass production of a vehicle can be reduced from 36 months to 12 to 18 months.
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