“The goal of our project is to design an at-home refueling station that is much simpler in design and more cost effective,” said Anna Lis Laursen, project leader and chemical engineer at GRC. “By reducing the time and cost of re-fueling, we can break down the barriers that are preventing a more widespread adoption of NGVs. If we can meet our cost targets, the price of a home refueling station would be less than typical appliances in the home such as a dishwasher or stove.”
The total cost of the 28-month program will be approximately $2.3 million, which will be shared by the government’s Advanced Research Project Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) and GE. GRC has also partnered with the University of Missouri and Chart Industries to design the innovative system.
While conventional home fueling equipment now costs $5,000 and takes five to eight hours to compress natural gas and fill a vehicle’s storage tank, GE expects to sell its new technology at $500 and fuel a car in less than an hour.
Source: General Electric