‘World’s safest’ CATL Bedrock skateboard promises +1000 km range

Chinese battery maker CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd) launched a new skateboard called ‘Bedrock’ the day before Christmas that should be as hard to crush as the name suggests, the safest EV chassis so far. What’s more, is that it promises a range of over 1,000 kilometers and supports Level 3 and 4 autonomous driving.

The skateboard chassis includes a base structure or a platform, which houses the batteries, electric motors, and other electronic components fundamental to an electric vehicle. CATL says the core powertrain, brake-by-wire systems, steering, suspension, and three-electric module are all integrated on the skateboard.

Safest chassis ever

Focus of the new skateboard is safety, as CATL calls it the world’s first ultra-safe skateboard chassis. The chassis is battery-centric and adopts cell-to-chassis integration technology, which integrates the battery cells directly into the chassis. This enhances the robust structural design, capable of absorbing 85 percent of the vehicle’s collision energy.

CATL showed a video demonstrating a frontal collision of a test car into a pole at 120 km/h. That’s more than double the speed that normally is used (56 km/h) by C-NCAP, the  Chinese crash testing authorities, equivalent to Euro NCap on the Old Continent. The energy released in such a frontal collision is 4.6 times more.

Limited risk of thermal runaway

To achieve that, CATL says it used hot-formed steel with a strength of 2,000 MPa, aerospace-grade aluminum alloys (600 MPa), and multiple barrier structures to enhance chassis rigidity.

To limit the risk of thermal runaway, the cells get an optimized protective insulating film that reduces deformation. And if the battery catches fire nevertheless, hot gasses are discharged from the bottom to prevent further spreading.

High-voltage circuits are disconnected automatically within 0.01 seconds after impact, and the residual high-voltage energy is released from the vehicle within 0.2 seconds, setting a new industry record.

Avatr first to use Bedrock

CATL is the world’s biggest EV battery maker with more than 40% marketshare, way ahead of the second, BYD. But unlike the latter, CATL doesn’t built EVs itself. The skateboard, however, is available for other carmakers to be used under license.

That allows them to shorten development times drastically, enabling to put a new model on the market within 12 to 18 months, as all major components are already there on the chassis. In essence, it’s going back to the origin of the automobile, where chassis and body were separated and you could oder with specialize coach builders different body designs on the same chassis.

The Bedrock Skateboard is CATL’s high-end version of the first it has built, called CIIC (CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis). The first brand to use the  Bedrock chassis will be Avatr, of which CATL holds a 14.1% share, being the second-biggest shareholder. The new Avatr car is scheduled for the second half of 2025.