TORONTO, Ont. — GE Oil and Gas has announced Chelsea Natural Gas has purchased 20 of its CNG In a Box fuelling systems, to make compressed natural gas more widely available to Canadian fleets.

The order marks the first entry of GE’s CNG fuelling solution into Canada, the company announced.

Chelsea Natural Gas plans to expand the public use of natural gas as a transportation fuel. The system will be deployed in semi-private cardlock locations, accessible to fleets. The first units will be deployed in December, the companies announced.

“In Canada, where commercial fleets are smaller, it is hard for individual fleet operators to justify the expense of building their own natural gas refuelling facilities,” said Steve Carmichael, CEO of Chelsea Natural Gas. “GE’s CNG In A Box solution allows us to offer a cost-effective way for vehicle fleet operators to take that first step in taking advantage of the economic and environmental benefits that come with using natural gas as a transportation fuel.”

The GE CNG In a Box system is a fully integrated, modular natural gas production system that offers plug-and-play simplicity, to promote the wider use of natural gas. Chelsea said the system it’s rolling out in Canada will be designed to withstand harsh winter weather.

“By combining the natural gas expertise of our GE Oil & Gas business with GE Capital’s knowledge of the Canadian transportation industry, GE Canada brings more than just a fueling product to the market,” said Keith Triginer, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas Canada. “We believe this holistic approach to promoting natural gas vehicles will help companies capitalize on what we expect to be a major game changer in the transportation sector. Although achieving scale remains a key challenge in Canada, we are fortunate to collaborate with companies like Chelsea Natural Gas that are actively working to develop the country’s natural gas fueling infrastructure.”