Cooling as a Service Webinars draw global interest

In April, the BASE team co-organised three separate webinars to talk about how the Cooling as a Service (CaaS) business model can revolutionise the cooling industry. These were done in partnership with recognised international organisations, including the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA)

Cooling accounts for 10 per cent of global electricity consumption and demand is expected to triple by 2050. Given this context, innovative technical and financial solutions, such as CaaS, are required to ensure that cleaner and more efficient cooling solutions are adopted.

To mainstream this concept and explain the potential of CaaS for the cooling industry, leaders of the CaaS initiative, the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE), participated in three webinars in April. The overwhelming positive response to the presentations showed the potential for this innovative business model to assist the industry in overcoming the key market barriers slowing down investments in more efficient systems.

“The more than 500 participants to the three webinars this month and the impressive amount of questions that we received show a very strong interest in Cooling as a Service from a large variety of stakeholders in different regions,” said Thomas Motmans, Sustainable Energy Finance Specialist at BASE. “We are glad to see that CaaS is attracting so much attention and this motivates us to redouble our efforts to mainstream the model around the world.”

For all three session, the webinars were aimed at:

• Business and building owners and operators who want to understand how clean and efficient cooling solutions can be accessed without purchasing the equipment.
• Equipment manufacturers who want to learn how to increase their project portfolio thanks to this business model (transitioning from selling products to selling services).
• Financial institutions interested in the model and the opportunities offered by the financing of these technologies.

After each of the webinars, the BASE team (together with the other presenters) collected the multitude of questions sent in from participants. These were answered via email and distributed to everyone who registered for the events.

“We are excited about the level of participants in the CaaS webinars these last weeks,” said Dimitris Karamitsos, Senior Energy Efficiency Business Developer at BASE. “It confirms the interest of the various stakeholders and solidifies the value of the model, which participates in sustainable business growth while tackling climate change. BASE is committed to supporting business leaders globally in adapting the model especially under these unprecedented times.”

The first webinar (2 April) was hosted by BASE around the topic of “How the pay-per-use model seeks to revolutionise the refrigeration industry”. The webinar was hosted in Spanish and tailored specifically for the Latin American market. It attracted 106 attendees and 34 questions from participants.

The session was moderated by Carla Della Maggiora, Senior Climate Change and Environmental Finance Specialist, BASE, and speakers included:

• Thomas Motmans, Sustainable Energy Financial Specialist, BASE;
• Ricardo Rodriguez, Business Development Specialist, Daikin Applied Latin America; and
• Alfredo Nicastro, Senior VP Operations and Sales, MGM Innova Group.

Motmans started the session by providing some background on the servitisation mega trend and how the CaaS business model works. Rodriguez then provided insight into Daikin Applied Latin America’s experience with CaaS implementation.

Nicastro from MGM Innova Group gave insights from an investment fund perspective and spoke more about their experience in investing in CaaS. MGM Innova Group, together with Daikin, worked together on a case study in Colombia where the CaaS model was applied. Nicastro presented this new office building case study during the webinar. By selecting this innovative pay-per-use model, a superior air-conditioning system could be installed on this site, saving an estimated 1,2GWh in energy and 440-ton CO₂e in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually.

On 15 April, BASE teamed up with its outreach partner, the World Green Building Council, to host a joint webinar on “How Cooling as a Service can accelerate transition to net zero carbon buildings”. This webinar boasted 135 participants and 36 questions.

The session was also moderated by BASE’s Maggiora and included Motmans together with:

• Chris Elizondo, General Manager, Clima Ideal, Gupo Clima;
• Martín Mendez Decoud, Product Manager from Smart Division, Grupo BGH Alfredo; and
• Nicastro, Senior VP Operations & Sales, MGM Innova Group.

Motmans started by setting the background on BASE’s involvement and explaining more around the CaaS model and how it works. Elizondo gave insights as a technology provider, sharing Grupo Clima’s experience with CaaS implementation in Costa Rica. Mendez Decoud spoke on BGH’s experience with CaaS implementation in Argentina, while Alfredo Nicastro presented on behalf of MGM, highlighting the reasons behind investing in the CaaS model.

On 22 April, BASE, the International Energy Agency (IEA), and Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative hosted a joint webinar on “How Cooling as a Service is set to revolutionise the cooling industry”, bringing in expert speakers from Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL) to talk about to highlight the financial opportunities with the CaaS business model. A total of 280 people attended the webinar and a staggering 104 questions were received from participants!

BASE’s Motmans was joined on the speaker panel by Jim Maguire (Partner at SDCL) and Peter Hobson (Investment Director at SDCL). After the background slides, the team from SDCL shared insights into perspectives from an investment fund investing in CaaS.