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December 2025 ABB LAUNCHES AI CENTRE IN THE UAE CAREL REPORTS DOUBLE-DIGIT REVENUE GROWTH IN Q3 2025 EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN: IEQ & FERTILITY PHOTO-FEATURE: HVACR WORLD 2025 US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ US$ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ ccme.news/digital Milestone ceremony NEWS • AHRI outlines recommendations for proposed EPCA reform • ALEC hosts Innovation Day 2025 • ENGIE Refrigeration introduces COOLCARE 4.0 • Güntner celebrates 30 years in Indonesia • TAQA, Sdeira in retrofit initiative Fifteenth Edition of Climate Control Awards shines the light on outstanding efforts in HVACRPRESENTS 11 MARCH 2026 | MUMBAI INDIA EDITION ST www.climatecontrolawards.com/indiaVOL. 20 NO. 12 DECEMBER 2025 34 38 36 www.ccme.news 3 PERSPECTIVE Designing for Life The critical intersection of urban planning, IEQ and reproductive health is an important consideration, says Dr María del Mar Barbero Barrera, Associate Professor at ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid PERSPECTIVE Why use MEA-tested detergents in IVF labs? Considering that embryos possess limited metabolic defenses, maintaining an "embryo- safe" environment is crucial for achieving successful outcomes, says Areej Abu Farha, Senior Clinical Embryologist REGULARS Regional News Global News eDItor'S note Two decades of chronicling HVACR PHOTO FEATURE: HVACR WORLD 2025 COVER STORY Climate Control Awards @15 Milestone ceremony shines the light on extraordinary HVACR performance 06 04 46 50 EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN: IEQ & FERTILITY ON THE COVER: H.E. Shaima Abdulla Al Mulla, Executive Director of Licensing, Compliance, Consumer Protection and Business Continuity, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy H.E. Sybille Pfaff, the Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany, gives an Acceptance Speech after receiving a Special Award highlighting the country’s engineering prowess 38 34December 2025 4 Jeremy McDonald Principal of Guth DeConzo Consulting Engineers, in New York, writes on IAQ and building tracing. He served as the technical consultant to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority in development of an IAQ guideline for Higher Education in NY: “Covid-19 Response Guide, State University of New York”. Dan Mizesko Managing Partner/President, US Chiller Services International, writes on issues relating to chilled water systems, including operation & maintenance. Nabil Shahin Managing Director, AHRI MENA, writes on HVACR- specific regulation issues. Dr Iyad Al-Attar Independent air filtration consultant, writes on specific science and technology issues relating to Indoor Air Quality, including airborne particles. Omnia Halawani Co-Founder & Co-CEO, GRFN Global, writes on MEP consultancy- related issues. Krishnan Unni Madathil Auditor, Bin Khadim, Radha & Co. Chartered Accountants, carrying out an analysis of the market, writes on business opportunities for the HVACR industry. Published by Founder, CPI Media Group Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015) Co-Founder & Commercial Director Frédéric Paillé fred@cpi-industry.com EMPANELLED COLUMNISTSCo-Founder & Editorial Director Surendar Balakrishnan surendar@cpi-industry.com Head Office PO Box 13700, Dubai, UAE Web: www.cpi-industry.com Printed by: Jaguar Printing Press L.L.C © Copyright 2025 CPI Industry. All rights reserved. While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein. Visit our website: climatecontrolme.com/digital Also available at Get the next issue of Climate Control Middle Eastearly! Surendar Balakrishnan Editor @BSurendar_HVACR I N MID-DECEMBER, we completed 20 years as Climate Control Middle East magazine, a period in time marked by extraordinary events that have shaped the collective consciousness of the globe. Though for a shorter duration, in the overall context, the imprint of “COVID-19” on humanity has surely been profound. The pandemic rattled the human psyche to the extent it provoked even unscientific responses, before the world settled into the acceptance that bio- aerosols were responsible for the spread of the disease, as opposed to surface contamination. Climate change, as a topic occupying the mindscape, is a weighty one. In 2006, Al Gore, the former Vice President of the United States, set out to highlight the impact of global warming through the critically acclaimed documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. He was not the first to do so, but arguably the most high-profile to train the spotlight on an issue that since has gathered engineering momentum. Food insecurity is yet another topic of importance, given that nearly – or more than – 40% of all the food we produce ends in landfills. It is a topic that James Mandyck raised in his critically acclaimed book, Food Foolish, with facts that were shocking as well as numbing. Again, he was not the first to do so but certainly among the few that have profoundly stated the case. In the 20 years we have been around as a magazine, we have covered the three topics with enduring focus. The coverage has been extensive in nature and not necessarily driven by COVID-19, the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events or the still worrying numbers of people going hungry to bed across the globe. Through covering them, we have acutely become conscious of the engineering progress humanity has made in mitigating climate change, poor IAQ, and weak links in the cold chain and in policymaking. The technology is there to combat them – more so than ever. The financial models are available to ensure their uptake. But what use the technology and the models when still largely confronted by apathy and cynicism? Indeed, what can be done to ensure they are adopted in a world that is mired in reluctance borne out of an inability to separate facts from perception, that is caught in a distinct lack of political and corporate will for the large part? The answer to these questions perhaps lies in policymaking that insists on incumbent decision-makers returning to the classroom to recalibrate their mind and reskill themselves in subjects as diverse as environmental economics, applied history, critical reasoning and social empathy. With the advent of AI, the call is going out that people need to re-skill to remain relevant. In the same way, it is not too much to expect that leaders with their fingers on the decision- making button need to head back to school for a structured learning experience that will yield authentic transformation – a milestone that would be as much worth celebrating as 20 years of publishing. Two decades of chronicling HVACR Editor Surendar Balakrishnan surendar@cpi-industry.com Associate Editor Karu Suren karu.suren@cpi-industry.com Online & Social Media Editor Nivedita Vijayan marketing@cpi-industry.com Editorial Assistant Arushi Menon features@cpi-industry.com Events Manager & Public Affairs Liaison Hazra Hussain Khan eventsmanager@cpi-industry.com Advertising Enquiries Frédéric Paillé +971 50 7147204 fred@cpi-industry.com Judy Wang Our representative in Asia (except India) +852 307 80 826 judywang2000@vip.126.com Deep Karani Our representative in North America +1 365 885-6849 deep.karani@cpimediagroup.com Design Head Ulysses Galgo uly@cpi-industry.com Webmaster Chris Lopez chris@cpi-industry.com Database/Subscriptions Manager Purwanti Srirejeki purwanti@cpi-industry.comDecember 2025 Climate Control Awards 2025 shines the light on outstanding efforts in HVACR 15TH EDITION of the Climate Control Awards ceremony, on November 27 in Dubai, saw contestants walk away with the iconic CCA Trophy in 25 categories, out of an original field of 48. Such was the stringent nature of evaluation that the remaining categories were disqualified, as none of the applicants in them met the minimum threshold percentage to be considered for the shortlist. This glaring evidence of the tightness of evaluation highlighted the traditional uncompromising approach of the members of the jury; it also highlighted the high premium associated with winning the trophy. As per tradition, the ceremony hosted a ‘Country of Honour’ – the Federal Republic of Germany enjoyed the spotlight at the ceremony for its long-standing pursuit of excellence in HVACR, as positively impacting reliability, energy efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality, amongst other attributes of building performance and cold chain. The prestigious ‘Editor’s Choice Award’ went to the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy. Her Excellency Shaima Abdulla Al Mulla, the Executive Director of Licensing, Compliance, Consumer Protection and Business Continuity, received the trophy on behalf of the Department. The citation, read out during the presentation of the trophy, highlighted the singular accomplishments of the Department: “The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy is the winner of the ‘Editor’s Choice Award’ for its pioneering initiatives of introducing ‘The Consumer Protection Policy’ and the ‘Water Management in District Cooling Plants Policy’. “Consumer protection is pivotal to the success of District Cooling as a cooling approach, not only in the country but also in the globe. By Surendar Balakrishnan | Editor, Climate Control Middle East Climate Control Awards (15th Edition) Taking into consideration the interests of consumers is the pathway to increasing the uptake of District Cooling and its penetration as a highly sustainable means to cooling the built environment. “Water Management is an equally crucial factor, given the long-standing objective of optimising water use in the country. Water has a high embedded energy, and the role in rationalising its use would go a long way in ensuring adequate and acceptable-quality makeup water supply to District Cooling schemes. The availability of that water – be it potable, treated sewage effluent (TSE) or sea water – is crucial for the feasibility and expansion of District Cooling, which is widely regarded as essential to the macro-drive of decarbonising our cities.” Here we bring to you in pictures the ceremony that was… December 2025 6www.ccme.news 27 NOVEMBER 2025|DUBAI, UAE - LE MÉRIDIEN DUBAI HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE, GREAT BALLROOM Azmi Aboul Hoda Kandasamy Anbalagan Khalid Al Mulhim Abhishek Chhabra Dr. Iyad Al-Attar Gurjit Singh Bhui Carlos Amaya Sarfraz H Dairkee Dr. Angela Fandino Mansour Kharoub Dr. P R Jagannathan Bjorn Ostbye Omnia Halawani Guillermo MartinezDr. Samiullah Khan Aakash Dave Shamim Rashid-Sumar Abdul Zameer Rehan Shahid Krishnan Unni Madathil Biren PateLJason Prince www.ccme.news 7 Gavel in hand, gravity of thought Here are the men and women upon whom was entrusted the formidable responsibility of identifying the winners and ‘honourable mentions’… ■ Azmi Aboul Hoda, CEO, EMergy Consultants; Chairperson of the Jury, Climate Control Awards 2025 ■ Dr. Iyad Al-Attar, Independent Indoor Air Quality and Air Filtration Consultant, Kuwait; Visiting Academic Fellow, at the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Cranfield University, UK; and Strategic Director, Waterloo Filtration Institute, Canada ■ Khalid Al Mulhim, Managing Director and Senior Engineering Consultant, PROTECOOLING - MULHIM Design rlos Amaya ■ Carlos Amaya, Programs Development & Oversight Section Head, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy ■ Kandasamy Anbalagan, Managing Partner, Proleed Mechanical Engineering ■ Gurjit Singh Bhui, Assistant Director of Engineering, Grand Hyatt Dubai ■ Abhishek Chhabra, Director, International Initiatives, FICA (Firestop Contractors International Association) ■ Sarfraz H Dairkee, General Manager, Corporate Development & Engineering, M A H Y Khoory & Co ■ Aakash Dave, Senior Manager - MEP, DAMAC Properties Co. LLC ■ Dr Angela Fandino, Director of Energy & Sustainability, ESF MENA ■ Omnia Halawani, Founder & Co-CEO, Grfn Global ■ Dr P R Jagannathan, Senior General Manager - Sustainability | Development, Sobha Realty ■ Dr. Samiullah Khan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Fakhruddin Holdings ■ Mansour Kharoub, Mechanical Engineering Director, Khatib and Alami CEC ■ Guillermo Martinez, Commercial Director, Araner ■ Bjorn Ostbye, Manager, Project Developments, LULU Retails Holdings ■ Biren Patel, C-Level Executive, Bright Water Environmental Ltd ■ Jason Prince, Head of Energy Management Services, Nationwide Management Services (Deyaar Group) ■ Shamim Rashid-Sumar, Senior Vice President, Codes and standards, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association; President-Elect, SFPE ■ Rehan Shahid, Regional Director, Middle East & Africa, P&T Group ■ Abdul Zameer, MEP Lead (Principal), AtkinsRéalis ■ Krishnan Unni Madathil, Chartered Accountant and Audit Partner, Bin Khadim Radha & Co, the third-party auditing firm that moderated the Awards evaluation processDecember 2025 DIAMOND SPONSOR ASSOCIATE SPONSOR BRONZE SPONSOR STRATEGIC HVACR RECRUITMENT PARTNERMONITORED BY CATEGORY SPONSORSCOCKTAIL SPONSORREFRIGERATION PARTNER Climate Control Awards (15th Edition) December 2025 8www.ccme.news Country of Honour THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY COUNTRY OF HONOUR GERMANY 27 NOVEMBER 2025|DUBAI, UAE - LE MÉRIDIEN DUBAI HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE, GREAT BALLROOM www.ccme.news 9Next >