BelAZ, Rusatom Overseas to pilot use of hydrogen-fueled dump trucks
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. July 17 (Interfax) - A pilot project to use hydrogen-fueled mine dump trucks and hydrogen fueling stations for them will be carried out at companies on Sakhalin Island, the regional government's press service reported.
An agreement on this project was signed in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Wednesday by the Sakhalin Region government, Rusatom Overseas, New Production Technologies, Belarusian truck maker BelAZ and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT).
"An agreement has been signed on the development of a strategic partnership to launch a pilot project using hydrogen-fueled mine dump trucks and accompanying hydrogen fueling infrastructure at industrial sites in the island region," the press release said.
The signing ceremony was held during the Arkhipelag-2024 design and education workshop being held on Sakhalin Island from July 8 to 20.
This project "will give our science and production practical experience working with powerful heavy machinery and will facilitate the promotion of our products on the market, including in other regions of the country," Governor Valery Limarenko was quoted as saying by the press service.
"The new hydrogen-fueled dump trucks do not just have the latest technology under the hood, but also big science, which makes it possible to develop the use of hydrogen energy sources in various areas of transport, including unmanned," MIPT rector Dmitry Livanov was quoted as saying.
A testing ground for developing hydrogen technologies and testing Russian equipment such as hydrogen fueling stations for vehicles and hydrogen power generating systems opened in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Tuesday. This equipment will be tested out in Sakhalin Region, certified and prepared for mass production.
Rusatom Overseas, a division of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, plans to build a hydrogen plant on Sakhalin that is scheduled to open in 2029. A location has already been selected for the plant, which may have capacity to produce up to 36,500 tonnes of blue hydrogen per year.