Tabreed and Masdar to boost collaboration by connecting cooling infrastructure

National Central Cooling Company, also known as Tabreed, is expanding its partnership with Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company Masdar by developing and connecting the cooling infrastructure at the two companies.

The Dubai-based district cooling company said the move will help it increase operating synergies.

"The collaboration represents another major milestone in Tabreed's strategy of providing efficient cooling to sustainable cities around the world, and expands on Tabreed and Masdar's existing relationship," Tabreed said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market on Wednesday, where its shares trade. It did not provide further details.

Last year, Tabreed acquired Masdar City’s district cooling company to provide cooling services to more than 2.7 million square metres of area in Masdar City, with an ultimate total capacity of 69,000 Refrigerated Tonnes (RT) under the concession.

The latest development comes as Tabreed forges new partnerships with different companies in the UAE. Earlier this month it signed an agreement with master developer Miral to provide district cooling services at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi on Yas Island.

“Masdar City is home to one of the largest low-carbon building clusters in the world, which offers potential annual energy savings of around 50,000 MWh for companies based there, resulting in opex (operational expenditure) savings of more than Dh10 million,” Abdulla Balalaa, acting executive director of sustainable real estate at Masdar City, said.

Tabreed will also carry out testing on two deep geothermal wells located in Masdar City to study the viability of geothermal energy to reduce electricity consumption.

Tabreed, in which French utility Engie and Mubadala Investment Company own significant stakes, currently operates 86 district cooling plants, delivering more than 1.399 million RT of cooling to districts in the UAE and across the GCC.

The company has also been expanding its portfolio through acquisitions.

Last year, Tabreed bought a majority stake in Emaar Properties' Downtown Dubai district cooling business for Dh2.48 billion. The deal, financed through a corporate loan, gave Tabreed an 80 per cent stake, with Emaar retaining the balance under a long-term partnership deal.

Tabreed also bought two district cooling units on Saadiyat Island from Aldar Properties for Dh963 million ($262m) in December.