If you two really are similar, don't you think your classmate feels the same way you do? How would you feel if someone tried talking to you with the intent of wanting to be your friend but had a hard time expressing themselves? Use that feeling as your basis for making a decision of what you want to do.
It really is a matter of having the courage like Bigballs, Joykyller and AiChaa shared. You got a ton of topics from all your research to talk about. What's really cool is if you can play to your strengths as an introvert of actively listening, you can ask questions about the things you know he likes and let him do most of the talking. And if he says something that you happen to also like, you can say "me too" and share your interest/relation in the topic (if you both have an interest in one topic, a conversation could last for as little as 5 minutes to as long as hours) Common ground (interest in the same thing) is how many friendships are formed. He might be surprised how easy it is to talk to you and from there, it will be so much easier to talk again. However don't say things you don't mean, because long term, that could backfire on you (hard to keep up lies if you don't actively keep track of them). Once you get comfortable with each other (in that you can talk without feeling shy or nervous), you can tell him your honest feelings if you want.
Good luck. Conversational skills are really just a skill that you can only develop by practicing. I can guarantee as someone who used to be afraid to talk to others in life while I was in school (only talked when it was necessary)