"We're pretty excited about the opportunity to be part of an emerging renewable energy market," said President/CEO Tom Griffith.

The concept sounds downright futuristic. Plain old water gets pumped into a machine.  And when it comes out, it's in the form of hydrogen gas.

"We scavenge the hydrogen and let the oxygen go, and the hydrogen we capture is then piped out to the storage tanks," said partner Karl Edmark

This week, Synthetic Energy became fully operational, producing hydrogen that flows slowly but steadily through tiny pipes. In fact it takes two full weeks to fill each storage tank, which is then shipped off to a Boise-based commercial gas distributor called Norco.  Before the plant opened, Norco had to go to Vancouver, Washington for its hydrogen. 

The process of producing hydrogen from water is not a new concept, but the way Synthetic Energy does it is. The company is the first of its kind in the nation because it uses the wind to help power production. Two wind towers contribute to about 25% of the total power needed . In fact, the concept was so ahead of its time, the government awarded Synthetic Energy a $200,000 rural development grant to help pay for the turbines.

"Without [the grant], it wouldn't have been economically feasible at this point in time," said Griffith. 

Right now, hydrogen fuels are used mostly in industry. But it has the potential to power just about everything gas engines can do now.

"I think everybody is aware that there's a paradigm shift about to occur in our energy markets. And to an extent, we can utilize other resources and save the oil for things we really need. It takes the burden off the supply and demand," said Griffith.