CHART
INDUSTRIES BUILDS CHINA’S FIRST LIQUID NATURAL GAS ALTERNATIVE
FUEL VEHICLE PROJECT
CLEVELAND, OH – November
27, 2001 – Chart Industries, Inc., (NYSE:CTI) today announced that
its NexGen Fueling Division (NexGen) has shipped its first liquid natural
gas (LNG) fueling station and LNG vehicle tanks for installation in
Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The LNG fueling station and
vehicle project is being constructed for the Beijing Shouke Zhongyuan
Clean Fuel Technology Development Co., Ltd., which is a partnership
formed by the Zhingyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau of the China Petroleum
and Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC), the Beijing Municipal Commission
for Science & Technology, and the Beijing City Bus Company.
Chart’s state-of-the-art
LNG fueling station can fuel up to 75 vehicles per day and will initially
support a test fleet of 17 city buses and 3 taxicabs in Beijing. NexGen
has also supplied the LNG onboard fueling systems for the buses. David
Barr, President of NexGen, stated, “We have been working with the
Chinese for several years and are very pleased to have been selected
as the company to help Beijing in its efforts to implement a new LNG
vehicle fueling infrastructure to improve air quality in Beijing. Recently,
the Beijing government reported that it would be spending billions of
dollars to improve Beijing’s air quality in preparation for the
2008 Summer Olympics. The announcement of the conversion of the 8,000
Beijing city buses to natural gas is a portion of this massive air quality
improvement campaign. This demonstration project is the first of a potential
series of LNG fuel stations in Beijing that are expected to fuel a significant
percentage of the buses and vehicles currently operating in Beijing.”
There are approximately 30
compressed natural gas (CNG) stations operating today in Beijing. The
LNG program is being implemented because it offers transit vehicles
longer driving range and because LNG fueling stations have lower operating
and maintenance costs. Mr. Barr further added, “There is limited
gas pipeline infrastructure in Beijing, which will limit the growth
of the CNG approach. SINOPEC is currently building an LNG liquefier
near Beijing to supply LNG for this program and future LNG projects.”
Jim Sadowski, Chart’s
President and Chief Operating Officer, further commented that, “Chart’s
market potential in China is large. We are well positioned to capitalize
on this opportunity of building the LNG fueling infrastructure for alternative
fuels in China because of our LNG experience and technology. Our Process
Systems Division has also supplied China with cold box fabrication and
engineering studies. Our two tank manufacturing facilities in China
also demonstrate Chart’s involvement and commitment to the emerging
China market.”
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, Inc., visit
the Company’s home page web site at www.chart-ind.com.
