GE Oil & Gas has signed an agreement with Endurance Industry for the purchase of 260 CNG In A Box Systems, according to GE. Endurance will acquire the systems over the course of the next three years and plans to use them to increase the amount of local natural gas fueling infrastructure throughout China. GE made this announcement in conjunction with the grand opening of the company’s high-speed reciprocating (HSR) compressor manufacturing facility in Shenyang, China.

“China’s vast reserves of natural gas, shallow coal-bed methane and recoverable shale gas allow it to gradually transition from traditional fuel sources to efficient and environmentally friendly natural gas options, enabling the country to lessen its dependence on foreign fuel supplies,” said Lin Chaoyang, chairman, Endurance Industry. “Through the implementation of natural gas solutions such as GE’s CNG In A Box technology, Endurance will help to greatly reduce CO2 emissions throughout the country.”

The CNG fueling station GE is supplying to Endurance features a standard-sized CNG In A Box unit with multiple, smaller “daughter” stations running off of it. This design minimizes the need for pre-existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure, according to GE. In addition, the larger station’s monitoring capabilities allow it to automatically send fuel to the smaller stations when fuel is running low in order to reduce wait times.

The CNG In A Box solution can reduce CO2 emissions by 24 percent, or 2.2 metric tons per vehicle, per year as compared with gasoline, and CO, NOx, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds by an even greater amount, according to GE.

The HSR compressors used in the CNG In A Box system are built at GE’s new Shenyang facility, which opened in June and was built at a pre-existing facility in Shenyang. The new facility will build to a production capacity of 300 HSR units per year with the potential for expansion as the local market grows, GE stated. This production capacity adds to GE’s existing production capacity near Houston, Texas. Chinese companies including CIMC Enric and Jerrywon Energy Equipments Co., Ltd. have purchased the first sets of HSR units, GE stated.

“GE is committed to helping China in its plans to reduce its dependence on coal power plants, diesel-powered mining, and industrial complexes and petrol and diesel-based transportation infrastructure, replacing it with cleaner and locally produced natural gas,” said Xu Xin, general manager, GE Oil & Gas, China. “The grand opening of our new manufacturing facility in Shenyang brings our advanced CNG and LNG technology closer than ever before to our Chinese customers.”