// COMPANY DOSSIER
Energia Ventures
A University of New Brunswick startup accelerator that runs a three-month intensive program for entrepreneurs in the energy, smart grid, artificial intelligence, cleantech, and cybersecurity sectors, providing funding, mentoring, and programming. It is operated by UNB's J Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (TME).
📍 Fredericton, New Brunswick, CanadaEst. 2016✓ 100% first-party verified
// CLIPS FROM Energia Ventures
“something a lot of people don't realize is we have a catastrophic labor issue”
“in the 3D printing world there's a lot of misdirection in the advertising”
“I had 200,000 in investment lined up that vaporized in March”
“the problem with plastic in the environment is it lasts almost forever”
“it just struck me the amount of waste, bin after bin after bin”
“no matter how hard we tried none of the sub trades would clean up after themselves”
“for me the obvious answer was let's make a no cut system”
“we're like all right we're not leaving until we get our first brick”
“going from proof of concept to scale production is one of the hardest feats any human can try”
// LESSONS FROM Energia Ventures
Track construction waste as a P&L line — on renovation work it can quietly consume nearly a third of budget.
Contract penalties won't make subs clean up; budget your own cleanup crews between every trade.
Plan for the labour cliff: the average North American construction worker is 60, so build systems that need fewer skilled hands.
Recruit young workers with technology and purpose, not just wages — the Tesla-vs-Ford effect applies to trades.
Audit 3D-printing cost claims: advertised house prices often cover walls only, and printed structure resists future renovation.
Design buildings for renovation — modular, disassemblable systems beat monolithic ones because owners always change them.
// SELECTED PROJECTS
NBIF investment partnership for Energia cohort companies
CompletedAccelerator delivering investment to cohort companies in partnership with the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation · Up to $500,000 over two years ($250,000/yr); up to $50,000 per company from NBIF plus $20,000 non-dilutive from Energia ($70,000 total per company)
Announced June 12, 2019. Quoted figures are the committed structure of the two-year program.
ACOA Regional Economic Growth through Innovation funding
CompletedRecipient of a non-repayable federal contribution to continue delivering the accelerator program free to participants · $655,500 non-repayable contribution from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Announced July 13, 2021 via UNB newsroom, attended by Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin on behalf of the minister.
// KEY PEOPLE
JA
Joe Allen
Managing Director of Accelerator Programs, J Herbert Smith Centre for TME (UNB) — oversees Energia Ventures
profile ▸// NOTABLE
PLAEX Building Systems — the New Brunswick recycled-materials construction startup founded by Dustin Bowers (the podcast guest) — participated in the Energia Ventures accelerator in Fredericton (as of 2021).
SOURCE ▸Energia Ventures is part of the University of New Brunswick and is operated by UNB's J Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (TME); it is listed as a current accelerator program by the centre.
SOURCE ▸Energia Ventures is a member of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN) and is headquartered at 346 Queen Street, Suite 201, Fredericton, NB E3B 1B2.
SOURCE ▸The program remains active: its LinkedIn page lists a demo day for the winter 2026 cohort on March 18, 2026, and the official site is accepting applications for the 2026 cohorts.
SOURCE ▸