ANN ARBOR – DTE Energy and the University of Michigan are challenging teams from Michigan colleges and universities to develop the best business plans for bringing new clean energy technologies to market. The teams with winning ideas will share $100,000 in prize money, to be awarded in the spring of 2009 to help move clean energy technologies from the laboratory to commercial production.
“Our goal is to drive promising clean energy ideas and technologies
from the research lab to commercialization,” said Knut Simonsen, president,
DTE Energy Ventures. “This competition will encourage students and faculty
to integrate new technology with a sound business plan and it will reward
the winning teams with additional resources so they can further develop
their ideas. We also believe the competition will help reinvigorate a
culture of entrepreneurship in Michigan.”
The U-M Ross School of Business’ Zell Lurie Institute for
Entrepreneurial Studies, College of Engineering’s Center for
Entrepreneurship, and the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute along
with student organizations MPowered Entrepreneurship and the Ross Energy
Club are organizing the competition. The competition is open to students
and faculty from all Michigan colleges and universities. Each team must
have at least one University of Michigan student or faculty member.
“The marriage of business and engineering talents that this competition
will create will be of great benefit to clean tech commercialization,” said
Thomas Kinnear, executive director of the Zell Lurie Institute.
The competition will require that teams focus on business ideas that
support renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid technologies,
environmental control technologies, plug-in electric vehicles or energy
storage.
“This competition brings out the best of both industry and academic
life,” said Gary Was, director of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy
Institute. “It will inspire some of the most promising minds in this state
to direct their knowledge and creativity to the great challenges of energy,
and give them the experience, and excitement, of bringing world-class
research to market.”
The business plan entries will be judged by independent panels that
will include leaders from the venture capital, business, industry and
academic communities.
The prize money will help the winning teams start new businesses that
can contribute to Michigan’s emerging role as a leader in clean energy.
Assuming this initial competition is successful, it is envisioned that the
competition will be held in subsequent years with an annual prize pool of
$200,000.
“DTE Energy’s sponsorship of the Clean Energy Prize expands on our
efforts to develop Michigan-based energy businesses and we are pleased to
contribute to that development in this exciting way,” Simonsen said.
Applications and details of the competition are available on the Clean
Energy Prize Web site at DTECleanEnergyPrize.Com
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