Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy

SyracuseCoE Announces Innovation Fund Awards to Four Cleantech Companies Working With Faculty and Students

Friday, December 6, 2024, By Emma Ertinger
Share
Syracuse Center of Excellence

Four startup companies have been selected to receive awards through the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) Innovation Fund. Designed to support projects that help companies overcome research and development (R&D) barriers to commercialization of potentially transformative innovations, the Innovation Fund is funded by SyracuseCoE Partner Program members.

This year’s winning companies are Hydronic Shell Technologies, M3 Innovation, ThermoVerse and tomPhyzx.

Each awardee will receive $10,000 to support product development and technological innovation. The companies were selected from a competitive pool of applicants who pitched their projects to a panel of external reviewers. Partner companies were invited to submit proposals aligned with SyracuseCoE’s key focus areas of indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy and water resources. The selected projects are:

Hydronic Shell Technologies: “Optimization of Hydrobox Terminal Units”

In this project, Hydronic Shell Technologies will work with its fabrication partners to further develop the HydroBox, a proprietary terminal unit that is key to the hydronic shell system. The funding will be utilized towards overall optimization of the HydroBox design, including air filtration, throw and distribution as well as development of the anchoring and support of the HydroBox to Hydronic Shell’s facade system.

M3 Innovation: “Autonomous Optimization of Energy Usage through IoT Wireless Control System”

This project involves the development and demonstration of Autonomous Optimization Energy Usage through an IoT Wireless Lighting Control System that utilizes a secure IoT platform at 915 MHz and enables long-range communication to remote sensor nodes. The system autonomously adjusts energy consumption, monitors power conditions and integrates with existing infrastructure to minimize energy usage and provide real-time data analysis.

ThermoVerse: “Smart Insulation Material System (SIMs)”

The SIMs project deploys ThermoVerse’s innovative smart insulation drop-ceiling panels in a quarter-scale test bed to reduce HVAC energy consumption by 40% or greater, without compromising the thermal comfort of building occupants. This work forms part of a larger project on grid-interactive smart building envelopes funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) and the American-Made Lab MATCH Prize.

tomPhyzx: “Validation, Visualization and Optimization of Air Flow Analysis in Digital Twins of Hospital and Exam Rooms to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections with Minimal Energy Impact”

This project will extend initial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) studies conducted through SyracuseCoE’s EPIC Buildings program to validate and improve air flow models in Upstate Medical Simulation Center’s single-patient hospital room and a medical exam room. The goal is to reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) while minimizing energy consumption.

The external reviewers who evaluated applicant pitches included Marco Adolph of TROX; Scott MacBain of Carrier Corp.; Cindy Oehmigen of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York; Kate Oja of the Workforce Development Institute; and Dan Rickman of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“The quality and creativity of these project proposals speaks to the strength of the innovation ecosystem that SyracuseCoE fosters,” says MacBain, director of compression module engineering at Carrier Corp, and chair of SyracuseCoE’s Industry Partners Council.

“SyracuseCoE is uniquely positioned to connect startups with academic experts,” says SyracuseCoE Executive Director Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang. “Through partnerships with Syracuse University faculty and students, these Innovation Fund projects will advance energy-efficient technologies and intelligent systems for human health, comfort, resilience and sustainability.”

Created in 2014, the Innovation Fund has invested more than $640,000 in more than 60 projects, many of which are based in New York State. Participating companies have reported more than 264 jobs created and over $49,000,000 in additional public and private funding leveraged from the Innovation Fund projects.

All current members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program are eligible to apply to the Innovation Fund. To join the Partner Program or learn more, contact Tammy Rosanio, associate director of partner programs, at tlrosani@syr.edu.

  • Author

Emma Ertinger

  • Recent
  • Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival
    Wednesday, May 28, 2025, By News Staff
  • Timur Hammond’s ‘Placing Islam’ Receives Journal’s Honorable Mention
    Tuesday, May 27, 2025, By News Staff
  • Expert Available to Discuss DOD Acceptance of Qatari Jet
    Thursday, May 22, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Syracuse University 2025-26 Budget to Include Significant Expansion of Student Financial Aid
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Light Work Opens New Exhibitions
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff

More In Business & Economy

Registration Open for Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference July 8-10 in Las Vegas  

The second annual Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference (SEICon)—named by Zoomph as one of the best sports business conferences of 2025—will be held from July 8-10 at MGM’s iconic Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. SEICon is a partnership between UNLV…

Blackstone LaunchPad Student Start-Ups Win in the 2025 New York Business Plan Competition

Three Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad (LaunchPad) student start-up teams won prizes in the finals of the New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC), powered by Upstate Capital Association of NY, held in Albany on April 24. Carolyn Fernandes G’25 (College…

2025 Raymond von Dran iPrize and Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award Winners Announced

Winners of the 2025 School of Information Studies’ (iSchool) Raymond von Dran (RvD) Fund for Student Entrepreneurship iPrize competition and the Hunter Brooks Watson (HBW) Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award were announced on April 10 at the Blackstone LaunchPad in Bird…

Women Leaders in Sports Helping to Create a Promising Future for Syracuse Students

One of the many benefits of the new partnership between the nationally recognized Women Leaders in Sports and the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics is the mentorship that Women Leaders in Sports executives are providing to Falk students….

Whitman School’s MBA Achieves Highest Ranking in 25 Years By U.S. News & World Report; Entrepreneurship MBA Is Ranked No. 29

The residential MBA program at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management is now ranked No. 54 in the nation, up from No. 66 last year and No. 84 a few years ago, by U.S. News & World Report’s 2025…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.