Analysis of the Function of New Energy Vehicle Battery Tray

　　In the core power unit of new energy vehicles - the battery pack, the battery tray is a crucial but often underestimated basic structural component. It is far from a simple "container" or "shell", but a comprehensive safety platform that integrates multiple core functions, serving as the cornerstone of battery systems and even vehicle safety.

　　1、 Core pillar: structural load-bearing and protection

　　The primary function of the battery tray is to serve as the "skeleton" and "base" of the entire battery pack, providing a sturdy and stable installation platform for hundreds or even thousands of battery cells, modules, and related management systems. It must withstand vibrations, impacts, and loads throughout the entire lifecycle of the vehicle. More importantly, in the event of a vehicle collision, high-strength designed trays (such as using aluminum alloy profiles or integrated die-casting processes) can effectively resist external impacts, absorb energy through structural deformation, prevent battery cells from being squeezed or punctured, and thus avoid internal short circuits causing thermal runaway, which is a physical defense line for battery safety.

　　2、 Security Barrier: Sealing and Isolation

　　The battery system is extremely sensitive to pollutants such as water and dust. The battery tray is responsible for the critical task of constructing a sealed safety compartment. Through high-precision welding, adhesive sealing and other technologies, the battery tray needs to achieve a very high level of protection (usually IP67 or higher) to ensure that the battery pack can still operate safely in harsh environments such as water, rain or dust, and isolate external environmental erosion.

　　3、 Thermal Management Matrix: Physical Carrier for Temperature Control

　　The performance, lifespan, and safety of batteries are highly dependent on their operating temperature. Modern battery trays have been deeply integrated with thermal management systems. Liquid cooled plates or liquid cooled pipelines are usually directly integrated or installed inside the tray, utilizing the structure of the tray itself as a heat transfer and dissipation path. The design of the tray directly determines the distribution of coolant flow channels, affecting the consistency of temperature in various areas of the battery pack and the ability to suppress the spread of thermal runaway. It is the "foundation" of the thermal management system.

　　4、 Integrated body: Improving overall vehicle performance

　　With the rise of CTB/CTC technology, the role of battery trays has undergone revolutionary changes. It has transformed from an independent component to a part of the vehicle chassis structure, directly connected to the body frame. This significantly improves the overall torsional and bending stiffness of the vehicle, enhancing its handling stability and ride comfort. Meanwhile, this integrated design reduces the vehicle's center of gravity and optimizes the seating space.

　　5、 Lightweight main battlefield: contributors to energy efficiency and endurance

　　Weight reduction is an eternal theme for improving the range of electric vehicles. Battery trays have become a key area of lightweighting due to their large volume and weight ratio. From early steel to current mainstream aluminum alloys, and then to exploring carbon fiber composite materials, every upgrade in materials and processes (such as extruded aluminum profiles, aluminum alloy die-casting, and plastic aluminum composites) aims to reduce the weight of the pallet as much as possible while ensuring strength and safety, thereby directly contributing to the overall energy efficiency and endurance performance of the vehicle.

　　In summary, the new energy battery tray is a complex functional component that integrates mechanical structure design, material science, thermodynamics, and sealing technology. It has evolved from passive load-bearing to active protection and integration, from a single component to a system platform. Its technological development level directly affects the safety bottom line, performance limit, and cost control of new energy vehicles, and is an indispensable "invisible pillar" in the electric vehicle industry system.