Dive Brief:
- Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores has purchased U.S. Energy’s compressed natural gas (CNG) network, according to a company announcement. The purchase includes 41 public and private CNG stations in 15 U.S. states and three more in Canada.
- The stations will be added to Love’s Trillium Energy Solutions division, which rebranded to Love’s Alternative Energy on Monday, the company said in a separate announcement.
- The deal grows Love’s North American network of CNG stations by 70%, to 107 locations.
Dive Insight:
Love’s is growing its CNG network — which uses renewable natural gas — at a time when the fuel type remains a niche part of the transportation energy ecosystem. However, demand is growing: The global CNG market was worth nearly $4 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of about 5% per year, according to Precedence Research.
Financial terms of Love’s latest deal were not disclosed.
“We have recently seen an increased interest in CNG as a clean alternative fuel from both our private sector fleet and trucking customers,” said Ryan Erickson, vice president of alternative energy for Love’s. “Adding these stations grows our network quite significantly, which unlocks more value and access for customers.”
In addition to the acquisition, Love’s also plans to open a new public CNG station in Fresno, California, later this year. Love’s Alternative Energy also has six hydrogen stations operating or under construction and recently opened next-generation electric vehicle chargers at two stores in New York State and three in Pennsylvania.
Trillium joined the Love’s family of businesses in 2016, in a move Love’s late founder Tom Love said was meant to increase innovation at the company. Erickson called the rebrand “a natural evolution of Trillium’s legacy, and expansion of the Love’s value proposition."
