Gold Hydrogen jumps on market debutShares in Gold Hydrogen,...

Gold Hydrogen jumps on market debut


Shares in Gold Hydrogen, which hopes to capitalise on global demand for zero emission fuel sources, rose as much as 10 per cent on their first day of trading.

While the initial gains eased by mid-afternoon, when shares were up 3 per cent, the result demonstrates keen interest in the novel take on natural resources on a day when the ASX All Ordinaries index traded up 0.73 per cent.

“ In this climate, we are thrilled with the result. Our investors are true believers, they believe in our vision and understand we can play a key role in the energy transition,

” Gold Hydrogen chief executive Neil McDonald told AFR Weekend.

The company raised $20 million in its initial public offering, which it plans to use to begin drilling in South Australia.Mr McDonald said drilling would begin by the September quarter, when the company hoped to showcase the commercial viability of its business plan.

Should it succeed, Gold Hydrogen will tap into soaring demand for zero emissions energy sources, which few hydrogen companies have so far been unable to achieve.

The role of hydrogen in the global transition is contested. While some see it as a viable alternative to fossil fuels, others say that to produce it in significant volumes would require either vast sources of renewable energy or commercially viable carbon capture to mitigate the use of gas needed to produce it.

Survey work boosts confidenceIf Gold Hydrogen can prove the existence of large amounts of natural hydrogen from its near-8000-square-kilometre site on the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island in South Australia, it would be able to meet global appetite at a fraction of the current cost of producing hydrogen.

Mr MacDonald said recent survey work undertaken by the company had made it even more confident in its assessment of large-scale amounts of hydrogen.

Chairman and former foreign minister Alexander Downer on Thursday said Gold Hydrogen believed there were 1.3 billion kilograms of naturally occurring hydrogen, but this could be confirmed only once drilling began. Such a result would hasten Australia’s transition to hydrogen.

Many expect hydrogen as a fuel source to grow, but it could take decades before it reaches large-scale commercialisation.

The cost of so-called green hydrogen – produced when renewable energy is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – is falling quickly but remains a long way from commercial viability.

Gold Hydrogen is seeking seven more tenements in SA covering another 67,512 square kilometres beyond its flagship Ramsay Project.

Over to you Tom.