Composite Advanced Technologies (CATEC), a provider of compressed natural gas (CNG), renewable natural gas (RNG) and hydrogen transportation and storage solutions in the U.S. and an affiliate of Apollo-managed funds, acquired Kelley Leasing Partners, a compressed gas and cryogenic liquid transportation equipment leasing company serving hydrogen, helium and CNG customers across industrial gas, utility and virtual pipeline end markets.

In connection with the acquisition, the Apollo-managed funds and CATEC launched Hydria, a compressed gas platform providing equipment and services supporting the CNG, RNG, helium and hydrogen value chain with over-the-road transport, storage and leasing capabilities. The Apollo-managed funds are the majority owner of Hydria.

The acquisition of Kelley Leasing Partners provides Hydria with equipment scale and diversification, along with additional manufacturing capabilities, retesting and maintenance services, and industry expertise. Ken Kelley, Bryan Kelley and Wes Knapp will join Hydria’s leadership team from Kelley Leasing Partners to support the growth of leasing and other services. Scott Prince, an operating partner at Apollo, was appointed CEO of Hydria.

“The launch of Hydria marks an exciting milestone as the CATEC, Kelley and Apollo teams join forces to spearhead a new platform with significant growth potential in the gaseous logistics industry,” Prince said. “Leveraging our collective expertise, we believe Hydria can become a differentiated service provider supporting the end-to-end equipment needs of the compressed gas value chain. We look forward to pursuing various expansion initiatives in support of the energy transition and believe Hydria has a bright future ahead.”

“By integrating the combined capabilities of CATEC and Kelley under the Hydria umbrella, we can be better positioned to serve an increasingly diverse customer base across a variety of applications,” Alberto Chiesara, co-founder and president of CATEC, said. “We want to make it easier for companies to make their operations more sustainable and look forward to leveraging our collective skillsets to pursue opportunities in the high-growth hydrogen transport and storage market.”

“We are excited to partner with Scott and the rest of the standout team and see tremendous potential for Hydria to scale while continuing to add new capabilities to help customers transition away from carbon-intensive fuels towards cleaner alternatives,” Scott Browning, a partner at Apollo, said.

Vinson & Elkins acted as legal counsel to the Apollo funds on this transaction. Sprouse Shrader Smith acted as legal counsel to Kelley Leasing Partners.