Chesapeake Energy Corp., one of the largest producers of natural gas in the U.S., is collaborating with GE to develop a suite of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) products and services aimed at the transportation and home-based fueling sectors.
Among the partnership's initial goals will be for Chesapeake Energy to deploy, through its Peake Fuel Solutions affiliate, 250 of GE's CNG In A Box systems. Chesapeake Energy and Peake Fuel Solutions already have extensive relationships with retail fueling and fleet operators, which will allow GE to assume a great presence in the natural gas vehicle (NGV) marketplace.
GE's CNG In A Box platform takes natural gas directly from an existing pipeline and compresses it on site at a refueling location – whether at a fleet operator's headquarters, retail outlet or industrial location. NGVs' CNG tanks can then be refilled using a traditional fuel-dispensing technology similar to what is currently used for diesel and gasoline refueling.
GE and Chesapeake Energy will also develop technologies to support transportation applications of LNG, which is used most frequently as an alternative fuel for interstate trucking. GE currently offers large-scale LNG fueling plants, and the new partnership with Chesapeake Energy will target reorienting these proven liquefaction technologies for smaller-scale operations.
In addition to active development of CNG and LNG product offerings, the companies say they intend to collaborate on after-market services for natural gas fueling infrastructure and the co-marketing of products and services resulting from the partnership.
