The second round of this year's
Clean Energy Prize will take place this weekend as the $100,000 competition sponsored by downtown-based DTE Energy and the
University of Michigan stretched into its third year.
Twenty-three teams are participating this year with ideas for start-ups that focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, environmental control technologies, plug-in electric vehicles or energy storage. Those teams are made up of students from seven colleges in Michigan, including
Wayne State University. Fifteen teams have made it to Round 2 of which eight will go to the semifinal round on Feb. 17.
"We're looking for innovations that support alternative energy and energy efficiency," says Scott Simons, a spokesman for
DTE Energy.
Among the teams competing this year are some with new ideas, such as a start-up developing a water bottle that provides electricity from waste heat for use by campers and backpackers. Another example includes a start-up that is creating funding mechanism that aggregates consumer credit card reward points as project financing for renewable energy development.
The Clean Energy Prize's first place finisher will receive $65,000 to help them develop their technology and business plan. Second and third places receive $25,000 and $10,000 respectively. The last two first place finishers include
Algal Scientific and Enertia. For information on the competition, click
here.
Source: Scott Simons, a spokesman for DTE Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com.
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