Natural gas supplies are ubiquitous - so ubiquitous that, for example, we use it for cooking. While natural gas vehicles can work well, it is rarely used as a transportation fuel in the U.S. The number of NG vehicles globally is estimated at around 15 million, with more than 250,000 in the U.S.

At-home refueling stations are sold today, but are expensive (~$5000) and require long re-fueling times. The 5-8 hours required to refuel an CNG vehicle often leaves overnight re-fueling as the only the viable option for vehicle owners. While these barriers can be more easily managed by established fleets, they are not practical for passenger vehicles parked in the driveway or garage at home.

Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy project

ARPA-E ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECTS TO ADVANCE INNOVATIVE NATURAL GAS VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES

• Awards totaling $30 million to develop new ways of harnessing U.S.energy resources to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil

Through its Advanced Research Projects Agency -- Energy (ARPA-E), the Department's new program, titled Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy - or "MOVE" -- aims to engineer light-weight, affordable natural gas tanks for vehicles and develop natural gas compressors that can efficiently fuel a natural gas vehicle at home.

These projects build on President Obama's call for a new era for American energy that benefits from the safe, responsible development of the near 100-year supply of U.S. natural gas resources, which has the potential to support more than 600,000 American jobs. Shale gas production in the U.S. has more than tripled since 2008. Over the past five years, it has grown from 5 percent to more than 30 percent of total domestic natural gas production. The Department of Energy sponsored early research that helped lead to this development, funding research and development jointly with industry and universities that was essential to the development of American shale gas resources.

http://arpa-e.energy.gov/media/news/tabid/83/vw/1/itemid/58/Default.aspx

http://arpa-e.energy.gov/Portals/0/Documents/FundedProjects/MOVE/MOVE Project Descriptions_7_11_12.pdf

GE Researchers Developing At-Home Refueling Station for NG Vehicles

• Goal of ARPA-E project to achieve 10X reduction in station costs and cut re-fueling time for Natural Gas (NG) vehicles from a whole work day to under one hour
• Developing unique approach to re-fueling that would replace more expensive and complex compressor technologies used today
• Initial focus will be on re-fueling stations for fleet vehicles, with an eye to passenger vehicles in the future

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120718005840/en/GE-Researchers-Developing-At-Home-Refueling-Station-NG

Will there be a natural gas vehicle revolution due to low cost CNG refueling station from GE?

GE is developing a quick fueling system for natural gas vehicles as part of an ARPA-E funded group of thirteen projects to improve natural gas fueling, that could begin to make CNG vehicles attractive to the average consumer.

http://www.torquenews.com/1075/will-there-be-natural-gas-vehicle-revolution-due-low-cost-cng-refueling-station-ge