Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz plans to start hydrogen-powered bus production in 2023, says the general director of the company Sergei Kogogin.

"We will develop a hydrogen bus this year and we will finish the tests by 2023," Kogogin said during the Innoprom exhibition in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

According to him, Kamaz plans to start serial production of the bus in the same year. It is still difficult to predict the timing of the release of new items in the series, notes Kogogin, since much will depend on external factors. 

The main ones are the demand and the availability of appropriate fueling infrastructure in the country, Kallanish notes.

"If the market is formed, then I have no doubt that we will be ready for release in 2023," Kamaz general director adds. “The bus will run on green hydrogen".

Last year, Kamaz said it planned to start developing hydrogen-powered trucks and buses in 2021. The company is working with the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) a universal modular platform that will allow the production of nine- and 18-metre hydrogen buses and electric buses with new, improved characteristics.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin set a goal to make a hydrogen-fueled city bus by 2023. According to him, the use of this type of fuel is necessary, "taking into account the requirements for nature conservation, taking into account the requirements for urban transport, especially in large cities." 

In October of 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a new hydrogen strategy for Russia through 2024. It is planned to support pilot projects, such as the creation of engines running on natural gas and rail transport on methane-hydrogen fuel, as well as installations for the production of hydrogen without carbon dioxide emissions.