This letter demonstrates AIRAH’s interest to participate in Professor Zheng O’Neill’s proposal “Global Center: Climate Resilient decarbonized built Environment through Equitable Energy mAnagemenT and aquifEr Storage (CRE3ATES)”, submitted in response to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Global Center Program NSF 23-557.

The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) is an independent not-for-profit technical organisation providing leadership in the HVAC&R sector in Australia. As Australia’s peak association for HVAC&R professionals, we strive to create an industry that is highly skilled and professional, safe, sustainable, and environmentally effective.

Looking towards 2030, there are a number of key challenges facing our industry. These include the transition to net zero buildings, the digitisation of the built environment, and a need to make our sector more accessible and inclusive. The proposed CRE3ATES project is an exciting initiative to address some of these challenges and create a more sustainable future.

We have maintained a close relationship with the University of Wollongong (UOW) and CSIRO during the past 10 years. We would be delighted to extend our ongoing relationship through this proposed project. We are confident that this is the right team to tackle these important and challenging problems associated with Climate Change. More specifically, we will be happy to contribute to the project in the following areas:

• Participating in the annual workshop
• Disseminating the project outcomes to our members and our wider industry audience
• Acting as an industry advisor.

In closing, we strongly believe that the multi-disciplinary international team is well qualified and suited to resolve the challenges of the proposed work. In anticipation of a successful outcome, AIRAH looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the University of Wollongong and exploring new collaborations with other project partners.