The 2024 AIRAH Awards winners were announced at a black-tie gala dinner at Crown Aviary in Melbourne on November 21. The awards recognise outstanding achievements in Australia’s HVAC&R building services industry, and around 200 guests celebrated the innovative work of individuals and companies in the sector.
AIRAH CEO Sami Zheng, Affil.AIRAH said the AIRAH Awards play an important function in highlighting the work AIRAH’s members do and showcasing the industry’s role in moving to a net-zero future.
“HVAC&R is a ‘hidden’ industry,” she said. “Our industry’s leading people, projects and initiatives complete their work away from mainstream attention. The awards are a way for us to recognise some of these amazing achievements.”
The winners are:
- Best HVAC retrofit or upgrade: Goondiwindi HVAC Upgrade by NRG Services
- Excellence in diversity and inclusion: SP&R Group
- Excellence in sustainability: Sydney Airport International Terminal T1 Chilled Water Plant Optimisation, A.G. Coombs and Exergenics AND Woolworths Metro Gadsden Co2 WaterLoop system, Woolworths
- Excellence in HVAC&R research: Accelerating solar and thermal energy storage for HVAC decarbonisation, University of Wollongong
- Excellence in innovation: Sydney Airport International Terminal T1 Chilled Water Plant Optimisation, A.G Coombs and Exergenics
- Excellence in refrigeration: Woolworths Metro Gadsden Co2 WaterLoop System, Woolworths
- Future leader: Bilal Babadagi, M.AIRAH
- Product of the year: Thermal-XR, Graphene Manufacturing Group
- Student of the year – Trade: Jordan Hocking, Stud.AIRAH
- Student of the year – Higher education or research: Poorya Shaghaghi, Stud.AIRAH
- WR Ahern Award (best technical paper by an AIRAH member published in Ecolibrium): Striking a balance: planning and implementation considerations for natural gas removal | Simon Witts, M.AIRAH et al
