UNB News
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Program will support development of energy and cybersecurity startups

The J. Herbert Smith Technology Management Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) will establish an Energy Innovation Program, thanks to help from the Government of Canada and key partners focused on advancing the energy and cybersecurity sectors.

Delivered through a unique accelerator, Energia Ventures, the program will support new startups and research to assist in the commercialization of products and services in the energy, clean tech and cybersecurity sectors. Currently, the new entrepreneurial accelerator has attracted five company startups including Stash Energy, Beauceron Security, Trispectra Innovation Inc., Rising Tide Technologies and Mbissa Energy Systems.

Matt DeCourcey, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, joined Dr. Eddy Campbell, President and Vice-Chancellor, UNB; Dhirendra Shukla, Chair, J. Herbert Smith Technology Management Entrepreneurship Centre, and Ed Rodriguez, Managing Director, Energia Ventures, to make the announcement today.

Nearly $1 million in funding is being directed toward the Energy Innovation Program, from both the public and private sector. The Government of Canada, through ACOA’s Business Development Program (BDP), is investing $405,567 in the project and the University of New Brunswick is providing $60,000. A combined contribution of $480,000 from Siemens Canada and Mitacs – a national, not-for-profit organization – is for smart-grid related research already underway within this program.

Siemens Canada’s support comes as part of a $2.5 million investment the global firm committed to UNB’s Faculty of Engineering announced in 2013. The Energy Innovation Program will house current leading-edge smart grid research, including ongoing projects at the university, supported by Siemens Canada as part of its 2013 investment.

Energia Ventures is evidence of a growing smart grid eco-system in New Brunswick and continuation of successful collaboration between the academia, public and private sector in energy innovation.

Quotes

“The Government of Canada is focused on harnessing the power of innovation to create new opportunities for growth in energy and cybersecurity innovation. Today’s announcement is key to our government’s priority of helping Canadian businesses grow, innovate and participate in a global economy, creating good quality jobs and generating wealth for Canadians.” - The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA

“The Government of Canada’s investment in UNB and Energia Ventures through ACOA, fits well into the overall federal government strategy to help startups become high-growth operations to eventually drive national prosperity and become significant employers of tomorrow.” - Matt DeCourcey, Member of Parliament for Fredericton

"This is an important moment for us. The launch of Energia Ventures keeps the University of New Brunswick at the cutting edge of fostering entrepreneurial activity, given its unique focus on incubating startups involved in clean tech, sustainable energy, smart grid and cybersecurity. And with UNB already at the forefront of advances in these sectors, Energia is also tremendous synergy with our innovation agenda.” - Dr. Eddy Campbell, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of New Brunswick

"At Energia Ventures, we’re on a mission to attract and support early-stage startups that are at the frontier of some incredibly exciting and promising sectors – cybersecurity, smart grid, clean technology and sustainable energy. This is a very dynamic space and we’re eager to get underway, propelling some very clever ideas and talented pioneers forward.” - Dhirendra Shukla, Chair, J. Herbert Smith Technology Management and Entrepreneurship Centre, University of New Brunswick

“Congratulations to UNB on the launch of The Energy Innovation Program that further solidifies the university’s leadership in the sustainable energy arena. Siemens is excited to be involved in leading-edge smart grid research at UNB, and to be part of the expanding innovation eco-system in New Brunswick along with our partner NB Power.” - Robert Hardt, CEO, Siemens Canada Limited

Backgrounder

Stash Energy - Jordan Kennie, Daniel Larsen, Erik Hatfield

Stash Energy has created an energy storage solution that works with residential heat pumps in order to shift peak energy usage and optimize the use of renewable generators. They are currently working with utilities across Atlantic Canada to bring their product to market. Their product will allow for the reduction of environmentally harmful generators being used across North America while saving utilities hundreds of millions of dollars

Beauceron Security - David Shipley

Beauceron Security helps companies measure, monitor and manage cyber risk through an innovative focus on people, process and culture - as well as technology based risk. Our software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform adapts the tactics used by cybercriminals into a series of metrics, methods and counter-measures. We help organizations' measure their members' cybersecurity attitudes, behaviours and perceptions as well as providing baseline education to improve their awareness. Our cyber-attack simulations test employee awareness and along with our incident reporting tool, helps improve accountability throughout an organization. Beauceron bridges the gap between the C-suite, boards and cybersecurity by presenting easy-to-understand S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely) metrics. Beauceron helps organizations of all kinds make more informed decisions about their cybersecurity strategies, programs and investments. Beauceron is currently beta testing its platform with UNB.

Trispectra Innovation Inc. - Emmanuel Albert

Trispectra Innovation Inc. (Trispectra) is a New Brunswick based start-up that is developing a sensor-based communication and analytics platform that provides real-time monitoring of power lines. The company is focused on delivering a cost-effective and innovative product that can disrupt the Smart Grid industry in Canada and around the world. By combining sensors, hybrid communications architecture, web-based interface, and an advanced grid analytics platform, Trispectra is creating a data-centric hardware and software solution that will increase the efficiency and efficacy of outage response.

Rising Tide Technologies - Scott Shreenan, Dr. Mauricio Hernandez

In the burgeoning field of tidal energy extraction, Rising Tide Technologies is developing a new approach for producing clean electricity. The method seeks to overcome some of the technical limitations and environmental impact of competing technologies. A major emphasis of the design is to incorporate energy storage with the tidal power extraction in order to have the capability of generating on-demand power.

Mbissa Energy Systems - Caleb Grove

Mbissa Energy Systems is making a difference in rural Africa. We develop and deploy sustainable wind, solar and hydro energy systems. This allows us to empower local individuals with the tools and knowledge needed to build, maintain, and use these systems so that they may lift their own communities out of the cycle of poverty. With over a decade of experience in Cameroon, Africa, and the success of the pilot project on Mbissa, our international team is ready to lead rural Africa into a bright, renewable future.

Associated sites

• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
• Atlantic Growth Strategy
• Technology Management & Entrepreneurship
• Siemens

Contacts

• Ann Kenney: Senior Communications Officer, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, 506-452-3687, ann.kenney@canada.ca
• David Stonehouse: Senior Manager Communications, University of New Brunswick, 506-458-7925, david.stonehouse@unb.ca