Energia Ventures has selected five companies for the 2020 cohort of its accelerator, which supports startups involved in energy, cleantech, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

The three-month program, which began Sept. 30, is part of University of New Brunswick’s J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management & Entrepreneurship, commonly known as TME.  This is the fourth year the university has held the accelerator, which accepts companies from around the world.

“Although this year will be a bigger challenge for delivering the program, we are offering a virtual model and are very excited about the potential of the companies we have selected as part of the cohort,” said Joe Allen, Managing Director of Accelerator Programs at TME.

The companies participating in the 2020 cohort are:

  • Paragon Motors, of Montreal and Moncton, which works with high-performance electric vehicles.
  • SolarSteam, of Calgary, which uses solar collectors to concentrate sunlight to heat water and generate steam.
  • envoPAP,  of London, England, which is developing sustainable packaging and paper from renewable sources like sugarcane waste instead of wood.
  • TROES, of Toronto, which is developing energy storage technologies to help middle-market power distributors and consumers.
  • And Solavio Labs, of Coimbatore, India, whose engineering solutions improve the performance of solar power plants.

The Energia Ventures program will conclude in mid-December with a virtual demo day for investors, stakeholders, and community leaders.

“Selection this year was very tough,” said TME Chair Dhirendra Shukla. “Not only did we receive a record number of applicants, but the quality of the applicants this year was amazing.  We expect great growth from the companies participating this year.”