Keppel Ltd. (Keppel) has secured its first Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) contract in India from Nucleus Office Parks (NOP), an operating platform of fully owned Blackstone offices in India. Keppel will partner Daikin Airconditioning India Pte Ltd (Daikin) to retrofit and optimise the 4,300 refrigeration ton (RT) chiller plant system at Exora Business Park, an NOP asset in Bengaluru, and Keppel will operate it thereafter for 10 years.

Located on Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road, Exora Business Park is a Grade A business park, which spans approximately 2.1 million square feet across three commercial towers. The Park’s chiller plant will be connected to and monitored in real-time from Keppel’s smart Operations Nerve Centre (ONC) in Singapore, which leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimise asset performance. Keppel has two regional ONCs in Singapore and Vietnam to serve its CaaS projects in other parts of Asia, including its upcoming projects in China and Thailand.

With Keppel’s deep design and operating capabilities in CaaS and Daikin’s state-of-the-art chillers, the system is expected to significantly improve energy efficiency, enhance operational cost savings over the contract period, and reduce the park’s carbon footprint by more than 6,000 tonnes of CO2[1] annually, which is equivalent to planting 600,000 new trees.

Ms Cindy Lim, CEO of Keppel’s Infrastructure Division, said, “We are delighted that Nucleus Office Parks has chosen Keppel’s state-of-the-art cooling solution for its Exora Business Park development. We look forward to working with NOP to successfully implement this first project and eventually further our partnership across Blackstone’s office portfolio in India.

“India’s industrial and commercial sectors are expanding rapidly. Factories, IT parks, data centers, and large commercial complexes require efficient cooling to maintain operations. This creates significant demand for innovative and cost-effective cooling solutions. Our proprietary cooling solutions are proven to help our partners and clients achieve energy and cost savings, as well as sustainability outcomes, thus we are confident that we will be able to replicate our success in more projects across India.”

Mr Quaiser Parvez, CEO of Nucleus Office Parks, said, “The partnership with Keppel cooling system signifies a key milestone in our commitment to operational sustainability. We are pleased to bring together Daikin and Keppel for this cutting-edge technology, which is set to become an industry benchmark in India. The project is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2025, contributing to NOP's broader ESG goals”.

The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter 2025, with projected energy savings contributing to NOP’s broader sustainability and operational goals.

Strategic Collaboration with Tata Power

Separately, Keppel has entered into a strategic collaboration arrangement with Tata Power Trading Company Ltd. (TPTCL) to jointly offer Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) solutions across India.  Keppel has identified that India is emerging as one of the most promising markets for CaaS.

According to the International Energy Agency, India is expected to become the world’s largest consumer of space cooling by 2050, accounting for 28% of total electricity demand and 45% of peak load.

India’s policy frameworks, namely the India Cooling Action Plan, which aims to improve energy efficiency, reduce refrigerant use, and promote the adoption of climate-friendly cooling technologies as well as the Energy Conservation Building Code, implemented by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which mandates energy-efficient designs and solutions in commercial buildings, also make India a fertile ground for the growth of CaaS.

As the pioneer district cooling service provider in Singapore, Keppel has a combined cooling portfolio of more than 260,000 RT in the Asia[2]. Year on year growth for Keppel’s CaaS portfolio has been notable and includes landmark projects and partnerships, such as Raffles City Singapore, the largest integrated development in Singapore, Perennial Holdings’ developments in China, as well as joint venture with GPSC, the electricity and utility flagship of the PTT Group in Thailand. Keppel was also recently awarded a contract by the Housing Development Board to deliver and operate Centralised Cooling Systems at three upcoming Build-to-Order projects in Singapore.

Keppel does not expect the abovementioned contract to have any material impact on its earnings per share and net tangible asset per share for the Company’s current financial year.