Montreal – What happens when you put a former McDonald's manager, a master mechanic and hydrogen gas together in Winnipeg?

Combustion. Really efficient combustion.

Add a credible Winnipeg engineering firm into the mix and you've got a product that could come out ahead in the race to find ways of saving fuel and cutting greenhouse gas . emissions in trucking, railways and shipping.

Staff from Innovative Hydrogen Solutions showed off their VCR-sized hydrogen-on-demand generator this week at the largest climate change conference since the Kyoto agreement was forged in Japan eight years ago.

The invention of Joe Williams the aforementioned manager and mechanic Tim Bogers can be attached to any internal combustion engine. It breaks down water into hydrogen and oxygen, which are injected into the engine, with dramatic effects on fuel economy, smog-promoting pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

The company, with about a dozen staff at its King Edward Street headquarters, could be the first to take a known technology and make it safe and affordable. Wardrop Engineering is refining the concept and certification could be only a few months away.

Manitoba was one of the only provinces to aggressively promote its environmental industries at the week long World of Solutions exhibition next door to the Palais des Congres, where thousands of delegates from around the world are negotiating at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

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