Clean natural gas has made it to the small screen… and taken to the open road.  And one Lincoln, Nebraska company helped make it happen.

Lincoln Composites manufactures fuel cylinders, one of which took center stage recently on the popular cable reality show “American Chopper.”  The show follows owners of a custom motorcycle business as they build one-of-a-kind choppers. 

Their client for the June 25 episode?  Chesapeake Energy Corp., the leading independent producer of natural gas in the U.S.  The creation?  A swirled-blue, chromed-out, clean natural gas-powered chopper.

Chesapeake tapped Lincoln Composites to supply the tank, which became a way not only to showcase a hometown product but to spread awareness about the fuel.

“We are thrilled,” said Lincoln Composites’ President Dale Tiller.  “The ease with which natural gas can be used as a fuel could not have been demonstrated on a more exciting platform than an Orange County Chopper."

The chopper is the world’s first to be powered by clean natural gas.  Chesapeake ordered up the custom craft to show consumers that natural gas can power something as small as a motorcycle or as big as a semi.

"It is such a critical time for our energy future," said Taylor Shinn, Chesapeake's Manager of Corporate Development.  "People need to consider what is at stake with what energy we use. We have something right here in the U.S. It's natural gas; it's clean, affordable, abundant and most importantly, it's American."

Though the green chopper might be a novelty for now, use of natural gas vehicles is widespread and growing.  There are approximately 130,000 NGVs on U.S. roads today and more than 10 million worldwide.  More than 25 different manufacturers produce 100 models of light, medium and heavy-duty natural gas vehicles and engines in the U.S.

Chesapeake unveiled the bike at its Oklahoma City headquarters prior to its debut on cable network TLC June 25.