DAYTON, Ohio — Millennium Reign Energy CEO Chris McWhinney can still remember when a friend introduced him to a device called an electrolyzer, which makes hydrogen and oxygen out of water and electricity. 

That moment got him thinking and would lead to decades of research, trial and error and various patents and prototypes. 

“When I saw that, I was like, well, if we can make the same type of power that powers the space shuttle, why not do that instead of gasoline,” said McWhinney. 

McWhinney founded Millennium Reign Energy in 2008. The company designs, manufactures and distributes hydrogen generators — powered by electric, wind or solar power. 

They've also created the “Ohio Hydrogen Triangle” with hydrogen-powered vehicle fueling stations in Dayton, Portsmouth and Columbus with eyes on the future. 

“Being able to have these cars and build our own fueling stations, we're going to build a network of stations from Los Angeles California to New York City, along I-70 and a few other states, so you can go coast to coast on 27 stations,” said McWhinney. 

Those 27 stations will be company-owned and funded, starting at $200,000 each. 

McWhinney said there are more than 11,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the U.S., mostly in California. And the top producers are Toyota, Hyundai and Honda. 

McWhinney said he's excited about the fact the California-based company Hyperion Motors is bringing its hydrogen fuel-cell research and manufacturing headquarters to Columbus. 

“They're making the car have a longer range and it's a beautiful vehicle,” said McWhinney. “The more hydrogen vehicles that are on the road, the more the demand is for what we do as a company.”

There are only 15 companies in the world doing what Millennium Reign Energy does. 

McWhinney, an Eaton native who grew up on a farm, said being a solution for the future of transportation comes with great responsibility and but the zero-emission technology will have great benefit to consumers and the environment. 

“When the world sees that you can transverse a continent on hydrogen, and all of the hydrogen is made on-site by each individual station, in a green fashion, the hydrogen industry as a whole is going to take off even faster than it is right now,” said McWhinney. 

McWhinney said, depending on the cost of electricity, it could be as low as $45 to fill up with hydrogen. 

He said his H-2 Hydrogen station can charge a vehicle in as little as eight minutes. 

McWhinney's goal is to produce 30,000 stations during the next 20 years. 

If accomplished, he said that would save 17 billion metric tons of CO2, the same as 170,000 air craft carriers. 

For more information on the company, click here.