Energia Ventures Welcomes First Ever Spring Cohort
FREDERICTON – Six businesses from New Brunswick to Switzerland have begun work in the Energia Ventures accelerator program out of UNB’s J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Leadership.
Energia Ventures engages entrepreneurs in the energy, smart grid, cleantech, and cybersecurity sectors. Past participants have included New Brunswick success stories Beauceron Security, Stash Energy, and Gray Wolf.
“The world is still in lockdown and that remains a challenge for many entrepreneurs,” said Joe Allen, Director of Accelerators for the J. Herbert Smith Centre in a release. “Over the last year businesses have had to learn how to navigate the difficult terrain of being a startup while also managing Covid-19 restrictions. Our program is no different, but we’ve learned to adapt to bring our unique programming to entrepreneurs and help them grow their businesses that will create a better world.”
The Spring 2021 cohort launched at the end of April and it is the first of two Energia Ventures cohorts the program will welcome this year.
“It’s so exciting to continue to be able to offer this despite the challenges we are all facing”, said Dr. Dhirendra Shukla, Chair of the J. Herbert Smith Centre. “The talent that submitted for this cohort was outstanding, and it’s great to be able to give an opportunity to take part in this program twice this year.”
At the end of the three-month program, participants will participate in a virtual demo day for investors, stakeholders, and community leaders.
The spring 2021 cohort consists of the following businesses:
- SWTCH (Toronto) provides end-to-end EV charging and energy management solutions. Their smart EV charging platform streamlines the charging experience for drivers while optimizing usage and revenue for building owners.
- Drinkable (Halifax) strives to empower water autonomy by providing unprecedented accessibility to water testing, risk literacy, and treatment guidance. They are developing a nano-material-based sensor system that will pave the way for unparalleled water quality literacy and awareness.
- PLAEX Building Systems (Fredericton) is creating environmentally responsible, simple, innovative building materials, made from currently unused and underused waste streams; for the construction of Eco-friendly, sustainable structures that will withstand storms, floods, earthquakes, and insects; all while reducing your carbon footprint and saving energy costs.
- Picketa Systems (Fredericton) is developing a precision agriculture platform that removes the uncertainty in farming. Their handheld scanning device allows farmers to quickly analyze their plants and soil to assess its health and maximize profits.
- MADA Analytics (Jerusalem, Israel) reduces the uncertainty of renewable energy project cash flows due to weather and other factors – analyzing and comparing the cost and benefits and improving returns with integrated performance guarantees and/or energy storage solutions.
- Smart Helio (Ecublens, Switzerland) is developing a Deep-data analytics and decision-making tools for continuous improvement in asset performance, and financials & business insights for solar energy production.
Liam Floyd is a reporter for Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].