Tasman's green energy initiative – to be undertaken via a newly-formed subsidiary, Eden Energy Pty Ltd - centres on drilling "hot rocks" to tap energy stored deep underground in central Australia and to gain a key position in the emerging hydrogen economy of the future.

“Both the exploration and development of the geothermal licences and the potential development and marketing in Australia of hydrogen and Hythane® (a mixture of CNG/methane and hydrogen) products may qualify for Federal Government funding under the $500 million fund announced by the Prime Minister on 15 June 2004,” Tasman’s executive chairman, Greg Solomon said.

The main thrust of the company’s green energy initiative targets several highly prospective and strategic sectors of the rapidly emerging green energy market and the enormous economic potential of the global transition from a hydrocarbon to a hydrogen-based economy.

“US and European Governments have during the past 18 months committed in the order of US$8 billion towards the development of the hydrogen economy,” he said.

”This commitment is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and to break their reliance on increasingly expensive fossil fuel energy sources and in particular oil that is derived largely from the Middle East.”

Solomon added that Eden Energy had already applied for seven geothermal licences in South Australia with a view to production of large quantities of clean, renewable energy that could be used to produce hydrogen.

“Additionally, Eden has secured a significant stake in UK-based Brehon Energy plc which has world leading technology involving the production and use of Hythane® and cryogenic storage of hydrogen,” he said.

Brehon owns or has rights to a range of leading edge Hydrogen and Hythane® technologies and patents. The technologies and patents address several of the major issues facing the transition to the Hydrogen economy.