Russia: Kamaz develops customized natural gas vehicles for Gazprom
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Sergey Kogogin, Director General of KAMAZ, took place last month in St. Petersburg. Both parties have been successfully cooperating in the area of NGV market development in Russia for many years.
For instance, when identifying promising sales markets, KAMAZ takes into account Gazprom’s plans for expanding its network of CNG filling stations. Meanwhile, Gazprom actively purchases natural gas-fueled machinery from KAMAZ to update its vehicle fleet: a total of 3,600 NGVs were acquired in 2014–2021.
In addition, Gazprom facilitates the expansion of the line of NGVs produced by KAMAZ. For example, the company commissioned KAMAZ to develop special-purpose trucks KAMAZ-5490 Neo powered by LNG. These vehicles are intended for the transportation of thermally-insulated containers with liquid helium from the Amur Gas Processing Plant.
In the course of the meeting, Miller and Kogogin signed two agreements of cooperation. According to the documents, KAMAZ will manufacture new prototypes of vehicles, including natural gas-powered ones, adapted to the needs of Gazprom and its subsidiaries. Advanced technologies and digital solutions will be used to create the new models.
The prototypes will be tested under real-life conditions at the production facilities of Gazprom. The company will select the test sites, assist KAMAZ in testing the vehicles, and take part in approving the test results. For the purpose of implementing the agreements, the parties will develop a synchronization plan (roadmap) for the creation and acquisition of motor vehicles.
Miller also met with the KAMAZ-Master sports team. In 2022, this team is launching a joint project with Gazprom for the creation of sports trucks with hybrid propulsion units and hydrogen propulsion units.
“KAMAZ vehicles have proven their high reliability and efficiency many times in the most extreme conditions. Great performance has also been demonstrated by our gas-fueled KAMAZ – a joint project with the KAMAZ-Master sports team which is a multiple winner of prestigious rally raids,” said Miller.
