Natural gas liquefaction dates back to 1886, when Karol Olszewski liquefied methane. The first prototype liquefied natural gas plant in the United States was built in West Virginia in 1912 and put into operation by the government in 1918.  The first commercial liquefaction facility was built in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1941, which stored LNG in tanks at atmospheric pressure. The super-cooled liquid was first transported across the Atlantic in 1959, carried by the Methane Pioneer from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to the British Isles. Today, there are more than 110 LNG small-scale production, transport and storage facilities across the U.S., primarily for domestic purposes.