Johnson spoke at the sixth annual Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium held at Kent State University Stark Campus Professional Education and Conference Center and Stark State College of Technology’s Fuel Cell Prototyping Center.

Johnson said it won’t be long before fuel cells are introduced into mainstream America. “It’s inevitable. It’s going to happen,” he said.

A fuel cell is a generator that creates power from an electro-chemical reaction using hydrogen. Fuel cells are expected to save money, cut down on use of fossil fuels like coal, cut harmful emissions and reduce reliance on foreign oil.

Applications are envisioned for cars, homes, industries and even as backups for power generation facilities.

Ohio wants “to jump-start what will be one of the largest industries in the U.S.,” Johnson said. Ohioans approved a $500 million bond issue in November to fund high-tech investments, and $103 million of that has been earmarked for fuel-cell development, he said.

He has been across the country, calling on fuel-cell companies. “We believe the manufacturing is going to come, eventually, to the Midwest,” he said.

“We believe these investments we’re making in the fuel-cell industry are starting to pay dividends.”

Right now, the race is to manufacture fuel cells so that they can be sold at an affordable, but profitable price. Any number of companies can make fuel cells, but none have put them into mass production.

SOFCo-EFS Holdings, an Alliance-based fuel-cell developer, has partnered with Rolls Royce Fuel Cell Systems to develop a fuel processor. The project received a $2.55 million federal grant this year, and $3 million in federal funds to begin the project last year.

The money will support a project expected to combine SOFCo’s technology with a power system Rolls-Royce is developing.

The state helped leverage the federal money with a $1 million Third Frontier Action Fund Grant.

Third Frontier money is set aside to increase high-tech, high-paying jobs and make Ohio a leader in new research and knowledge-based jobs.