New technologies focus of prize presented by DTE Energy, U-M

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Three teams have advanced to the finals of the Clean Energy Prize competition. Each of those teams will receive a share of a $100,000 prize pool March 20, when the final judging takes place. The first-place team will receive $65,000.

Following are the teams advancing to the finals and a summary of their business proposals:

-- Algal Scientific - Turn-key water treatment systems that combine wastewater treatment with biofuel production using algal growth bioreactors and proprietary processing technology.

-- Husk - Convert agricultural waste into thin, high-grade insulation for the refrigeration industry that delivers a significant improvement over conventional, petroleum-based insulation.

-- Ikanos Power - Flexible fuel electricity generation products for use in military, trucking, and distributed power markets.

The SITumbra team, which proposed a rigid solar shading window system configured to respond to seasonal variations with optimal energy efficiency, finished in fourth place.

The Clean Energy Prize competition was founded this year to help move clean energy technologies from the laboratory to commercial production. DTE Energy, through its DTE Energy Ventures subsidiary, and U-M, are challenging teams from Michigan colleges and universities to develop the best business plans for bringing new clean energy technologies to market.

The competition is a rigorous, multi-round process 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 finalists.

The competition began with 23 teams, each with a connection to the University of Michigan. The three finalists and the fourth place team have gone through three rounds of judging as part of the Michigan Business Challenge, the university-wide business plan competition.