As part of a joint commitment to advancing global best practices in district cooling, Tabreed, the world’s leading district cooling company, and Johnson Controls, the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, have signed a framework agreement to accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation cooling technologies.

Tabreed is working on multiple long-term projects, many of which will be covered by the agreement. The collaboration targets measurable gains in energy efficiency, reliability and total cost of ownership, while supporting regional climate neutrality strategies and corporate ESG priorities. It will focus on deploying next generation centrifugal chillers to enhance system efficiency and reduce climate impact, with performance analytics provided via Johnson Controls’ platforms for real-time optimisation and reduced downtime.

The agreement was signed during a special ceremony hosted at Tabreed’s Abu Dhabi headquarters, by Tabreed’s Chief Executive Officer, Khalid Al Marzooqi, and Johnson Controls’ Vice President and President EMEA, Richard Lek.

Following the ceremony, Al Marzooqi said: “Our company has entered a new, exciting chapter of unprecedented growth, which is aligned with our long-term strategy. We have multiple projects either in progress or planned for the near future, and this agreement helps both parties by securing supplies of essential equipment for large-scale infrastructure. By pairing Tabreed’s operational excellence with Johnson Controls’ advanced chiller technologies, we will bring tangible benefits to customers and communities alike through unrivalled energy efficiency and reliability.”

Richard Lek added: “Collaboration with Tabreed allows us to demonstrate how proven technologies and data-driven services can raise the performance bar for district cooling – at scale. Together we’ll help better meet the demand for cooling in rapidly growing urbanisations while reducing power consumption and emissions, and improving quality of life.”

This collaboration will be built on two main pillars. Firstly, advanced chiller technology, where Johnson Controls will provide a wide range of large-capacity chillers with variable-speed drives and modular systems for flexible loads, all engineered to reduce energy use and maintenance requirements while optimising space within Tabreed’s district cooling plants. Secondly, end-to-end lifecycle services will cover design and engineering support, commissioning and retro-commissioning, performance guarantees based on KPIs, upgrades and retrofits, and remote monitoring through network operations centres to extend asset life and reduce overall ownership costs.

The framework aligns with global sustainability goals by prioritising energy-efficient, low-emission technologies, adopting refrigerants with a lower environmental impact, while applying circular-economy and resource-efficiency principles that connect plant-level improvements to wider policy decarbonisation outcomes.

According to the IEA - International Energy Agency, operational energy used in buildings globally represents about 30% of final energy consumption.

District cooling, which centralises cooling production and distribution, offers a more sustainable and cost effective solution than conventional air conditioning as it significantly reduces energy consumption, lowers peak power demand and minimises the environmental impact of cooling.