The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s (RMIT) 2008 Business Plan Competition has been won by a company that uses Australian-first technology to harness renewable energy from the earth for heating and cooling.

According to a statement released by RMIT, EnergyCore supplies and installs geothermal heat pumps that tap into the natural heat of the earth and can save up to 70 percent on energy bills.

EnergyCore was awarded the 2008 Business Plan Competition, an annual competition open to RMIT students worldwide.

Team leader Donald Payne said geothermal heat pumps work by exchanging heat with the ground, which keeps a stable temperature all through the year.

“As a physicist, for me, it makes such simple sense – when it’s sweltering on the surface, the earth remains cool, and when it’s cold on top, the earth stays relatively warm.

“If every Australian household installed a geothermal heat pump, we could single-handedly meet our 2020 renewable energy target,” he said.

EnergyCore was awarded $25,000 by RMIT and a $10,000 award by The LiTMUS Group, consultants to the energy industry.