NexGen
Fueling Receives First Certificate of Approval for LNG Weights and Measures
Dispenser
CLEVELAND, OH – March
18, 2002 – Chart Industries, Inc. (NYSE:CTI) announced today that
its NexGen Fueling Division (NexGen) received California Weights and
Measures approval for its LNG fueling dispenser in January, 2002. Dave
Barr, vice president of NexGen Fueling, explains the importance of the
approval, which is an industry first. “The LNG industry is working
with regulatory and environmental groups to set up a network of public
LNG fueling stations to give LNG vehicles travel freedom. Public stations
can’t charge others without a Weights and Measures approved dispenser,
and we are pleased to offer the first and only LNG dispenser with a
Certificate of Approval in the industry. We feel this new approval will
provide a strong impetus to growth of LNG usage over the next few years.”
The dispenser is a result
of 10 years of LNG experience and the patented metering process developed
for the micro-bulk delivery of cryogenic liquids pioneered by Chart
Industries. According to Tom Drube, NexGen Fueling’s Vice President
of Engineering, “the major obstacle to achieving approval was that
LNG’s density falls dramatically as the temperature rises. Compensating
for the differing density while still maintaining a fuel flow of 30
to 50 gallons of fuel was a challenge that we solved only after testing
several possible metering configurations.”
Chart’s patent pending
LNG dispenser design expands on the already patented submerged metering
designs by incorporating proprietary technology that assesses the relative
amount of methane in the LNG mixture. In addition to this code requirement,
the system also addresses other non-accuracy requirements of the code,
including traceability and component integrity. The dispenser's metering
system includes both temperature and density compensation.
Jeff Schroeder and Tom Drube,
the two key engineers involved in the project, received NexGen Fueling’s
Award of Excellence for their engineering design.
The LNG dispenser's additional
features include: a breakaway hose that prevents extensive damage in
case of a drive away; provisions to vent vehicle tanks back to the bulk
storage tank to minimize product loss; and a short cool down cycle to
allow instant fueling. All liquid supply and return piping and headers
are vacuum jacketed to maintain LNG saturation pressure. The dispenser
safety features include automatic fuel shut off when a vehicle tank
is full.
Chart Industries, Inc. manufactures
standard and custom-built industrial process equipment primarily for
low-temperature and cryogenic applications. Headquartered in Cleveland,
Ohio, Chart has domestic operations located in 13 states and international
operations located in Australia, China, Czech Republic, England, Germany
and Singapore. For more information on Chart Industries visit the Company’s
web site at www.chart-ind.com.
NexGen Fueling is headquartered
in New Prague, Minnesota. It has sales, service and manufacturing facilities
in New Praque as well as Canton, Georgia; California; and
Solingen, Germany. NexGen Fueling provides onboard fueling systems for
LNG-powered vehicles. In addition, NexGen Fueling manufactures and provides
turnkey LNG fueling stations, as well as LNG liquefiers, LCNG fueling
stations and trailer-mounted fuel stations, both in the US and abroad.
