Update on Innovations
In our last issue, we interviewed Rob Ioanna, who leads Syska Innovations. To refresh your memory, Syska Innovations is a subsidiary that invests in seed-stage companies, pilots their software, and promotes ideation and technology development within Syska. The subsidiary has its own slogan: “Because exceptional environments start with exceptional ideas.”
It’s only been about six months since that Q&A was published, but a lot already has happened. First, Rob was promoted to Syska’s chief technical officer. In this role, he continues to drive Syska’s innovation strategy while ensuring alignment between business needs and our engineering technology, technical resources, and capabilities.
Second, We has been holding workshops for a small team that is analyzing innovations at Syska. The team is preparing to roll out a new initiative, but the details are under wraps at this point. Don’t worry – we’ll be sure to spill the beans in the next Connections!
“Because exceptional environments start with exceptional ideas.”
Third, Syska has been active in AEC Angels, a venture capital platform that focuses on developing technologies in the (you guessed it) architecture, engineering, and construction sectors. AEC Angels, which recently launched its website, has made an investment in Enviro Power, manufacturer of the SmartWatt Boiler. The SmartWatt Boiler is a condensing boiler designed to generate near-zero-cost electricity and to provide backup power, lowering electric bills for millions of buildings while improving grid resiliency and reducing carbon footprints.
According to Tim Krawetz a member of the Syska innovation steering committee, “The core features of the SmartWatt Boiler align extremely well with Syska’s strengths in the engineering and design of HVAC systems. By helping to bring it to market, we are supporting our long-term commitment to fostering clean, highly efficient, low-emission heating appliances that serve a broad array of residential and commercial buildings.”
“We are excited about having Syska, Thornton Tomasetti, SHoP Architects, and STO Building Group joining our strategic investor family. We see a significant value in working with strategic investors with deep engineering knowledge and experience like Syska. Working with Rob’s team has helped us to perfect the implementation stage of our SmartWatt Boiler technology. Our dialogue with Syska has the potential to completely revolutionize the way the industry is approaching the production of domestic hot water and space heating in buildings.” Said Dan Nadav, CEO of Enviro Power.
Rob points out that AEC Angels epitomizes an industry-wide approach to innovation. Other members of the platform include Thornton Tomasetti, STO Building Group, and SHoP Architects. As he explains, “We all are promoting innovation within our own firms, but our ultimate goal is the transformation of the built environment, and we’ll get there faster together.”