The DaimlerChrysler group will help expedite the development of fuel cell buses under a new agreement announced today in China.

The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology used Hyforum 2004 to announce a deal with the German organisation, whereby DaimlerChrysler will supply three fuel cell Citaro buses to Beijing.

Shi Dinghuan, secretary general of the ministry, said the low-emission buses would ultimately be used for the 2008 Olympics.

"We expect by 2008 there is going to be a small number of (hydrogen-powered) buses or vehicles that will be travelling on the streets of Beijing that will be servicing the Olympic Games," he told Xinhua Financial News.

DaimlerChrysler, meanwhile, says it expects to begin serious production of hydrogen-powered vehicles in 2012.

The Beijing buses will come from a pool of 30 similar vehicles currently being tested by DaimlerChrysler in 10 European cities.

The fuel cells in these buses will produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum catalyst.