Responding to market trends in natural gas-rich countries Russia and the US, Norwegian composite pressure vessel producer Hexagon Composites (Ålesund; www.hexagon.no) has officially begun composite gas cylinder production capacity in Nizhny Novgorod and has plans to quadruple its output at its Lincoln, Nebraska facility.

Rugasco, the joint venture between Hexagon Composites and automotive plastics components manufacturer Autocomponent (Nizhny Novgorod / Russia; www.autocomponent.info), has opened what it claims is to be Russia's first composite gas cylinder plant in Nizhny Novgorod. The plant has a capacity to produce 200,000 (liquid petroleum gas) LPG cylinders annually. The automated production line was transferred from the facility of Hexagon’s subsidiary Composite Scandinavia in Sweden, which was closed down in 2012.

Meanwhile, in the US, one of the most important drivers in the gas-powered vehicle market is the low price of natural gas resulting from developments in the North American shale gas market. As a result, Hexagon Lincoln (Lincoln, Nebraska / USA; www.hexagonlincoln.com) has invested NOK 105m (EUR 14m) in doubling its production capacity for “Tuffshell” compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders to meet this growth.

Additionally, Hexagon Composites has decided in principle to invest NOK 150m in a further increase of capacity in Lincoln. The planned production line is expected to once again double the production capacity for CNG cylinders for the bus and truck market, increasing the 2012 capacity four-fold by the end of 2014. The investment will give Hexagon Lincoln an automated and dedicated production line aimed specifically at the production of pressure cylinders for larger vehicles.