Clean Energy Prize

The competition was founded to help move clean energy technologies from the laboratory to commercial production. DTE Energy, through its DTE Energy Ventures subsidiary, 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, with a grand prize of $65,000 for the top team.

The  multi-round process is geared to reward top clean energy business ideas and provide students with experience and expert feedback on what it takes to create a successful clean energy startup business. Each successive round requires more information about the proposed business — leading up to a full business plan — to be submitted by the advancing teams.

In the first round of judging last month, 14 teams advanced from the 20 teams that entered the competition.  Those teams submitted seven-page market and financial overviews for Round 2 judging.

The advancing teams:

• Algal Scientific — Turn-key water treatment systems that combine wastewater treatment with biofuel production using algal growth bioreactors and proprietary processing technology.
• CTW International — Land-based projects that deliver climate, biodiversity, and community benefits based on accountable metrics and carbon accounting.
• Energy Technology Components — Flexible fuel electricity generation products for use in military, trucking, and distributed power markets.
• Husk — Convert agricultural waste into thin, high-grade insulation for the refrigeration industry that delivers a significant improvement over conventional, petroleum-based insulation.
• Lean Energy — Complete energy efficiency retrofit solution for residential customers.
• SITumbra — Rigid solar shading window system configured to respond to seasonal variations with optimal energy efficiency.
• Vortex Hydro Energy — A patented technology that derives clean energy from moving water

Details of the competition are available on the Clean Energy Prize Web site.