Blue smoke and bad smells from your lawn mower could be a thing of the past.  Akron natives Jeff Wilhite and Rick Saccone, and their partners in a fledgling local company called Hyrogen Energy Systems, have come up with what they call a “mixing block.”  It replaces carburetors and fuel injection devices on small engines so they can run on hydrogen -- fed from cylinders much like the kind used for propane backyard grills. 

Wilhite says the aim is to end air pollution from one of America’s biggest pollution sources, small engines.  He also says if the invention catches on, it can boost the local economy.  “A good 75%-to-85% of the parts and pieces we used to develop the prototype were made right here. So we’re going to do joint ventures and license agreements with local businesses to have the mixing blocks manufactured here, and keep the jobs in Akron, Canton, and northeast Ohio.”

Wilhite says just how many jobs will be created won’t be known until sales of get going, but Wednesday the Mixing Block, made in Akron, Ohio, was formally introduced to the market.