Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) launches its ultra-safe skateboard chassis on Dec 24 in Shanghai, which is expected to set a new standard for intelligent chassis safety, according to the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) launched its ultra-safe skateboard chassis on Tuesday in Shanghai, which is expected to set a new standard for intelligent chassis safety, according to the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker.
The product, known as the CATL Bedrock Chassis, is the world's first ultra-safe skateboard chassis. It can withstand 120 kilometers per hour frontal impact without catching fire or exploding, which will further enhance its intelligent chassis safety and provide comprehensive protection across all scenarios and speed ranges, said Yang Hanbing, CEO of Contemporary Amperex Intelligent Technology (Shanghai) Ltd during the launching ceremony.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) launches its ultra-safe skateboard chassis on Dec 24 in Shanghai, which is expected to set a new standard for intelligent chassis safety, according to the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
According to Yang, with the battery-centered design, CATL's Bedrock Chassis utilizes cell-to-chassis integration technology, which directly integrates the battery cells into the chassis and allows 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 percent of the vehicle's collision energy, while that of traditional chassis is around 60 percent.
"Amid the high competitiveness in the new energy vehicle industry, competitive pricing should never come at the cost of safety," said Ni Jun, chief manufacturing officer of CATL, adding that safety is the lifeline that runs through the development of CATL.
According to Ni, there is an R&D team of nearly 20,000 members at CATL making restless efforts to raise the safety of batteries, and the company's research and development investment reached about 18.4 billion yuan ($2.52 billion) in 2023.
Yang said the launch of the Bedrock Chassis is expected to redefine the standard for intelligent chassis safe and accelerate the transformation towards modular, personalized and intelligent automotive design.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) launches its ultra-safe skateboard chassis on Dec 24 in Shanghai, which is expected to set a new standard for intelligent chassis safety, according to the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
There are common pain points of high investment, long development cycles and accelerated product iteration in the industry, and Bedrock Chassis' characteristics would significantly improve development efficiency and shorten the R&D cycle. The time required for mass production of a vehicle is reduced from the traditional 36 months or longer to between 12 and 18 months, according to Yang.
An agreement was inked between Changan Automobile's NEV brand Avatr, the first automaker to use Bedrock Chassis, and CATL's skateboard chassis arm Contemporary Amperex Intelligent Technology (Shanghai) during the launch ceremony. According to the agreement, the two parties will deepen cooperation on CATL's Bedrock Chassis to create a safer, higher-quality travel experience for users.
