Finalists Selected in Clean Energy Prize Competition

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. In addition to the
$65,000 first-place prize, $21,000 will be awarded for second place, $3,400
will be awarded for third place, and $3,400 has already been awarded to
SITumbra for fourth place.

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 have organized the
competition. The competition is open to students and faculty from all
Michigan colleges and universities, but each team must have at least one
University of Michigan student.

The competition requires teams to focus on business ideas that support
renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, environmental
control technologies, plug-in electric vehicles or energy storage. 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.

Details of the competition are available on the Clean Energy Prize Web
site: www.dtecleanenergyprize.com.

DTE Energy Ventures is a DTE Energy company that invests in emerging
energy technologies and to date has invested more than $100 million in
energy-related companies and funds, making it one of the larger Michigan-based
venture capital operations. Information about DTE Energy Ventures is available
at www.dteenergyventures.com.

DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company
involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and
services nationwide. Its operating units include Detroit Edison, an electric
utility serving 2.2 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, MichCon, a
natural gas utility serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan and other
non-utility, energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, coal
and gas midstream, unconventional gas production and energy trading.
Information about DTE Energy is available at www.dteenergy.com.

The globally recognized Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for
Entrepreneurial Studies provides the curriculum, program initiatives,
community involvement, and alumni outreach activities that deliver exclusive
resources for future entrepreneurs of the Ross School of Business at the
University of Michigan.

The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute develops, coordinates and
promotes multidisciplinary energy research and education at the U-M. Some 75
faculty in disciplines ranging from engineering to policy to environmental
science to urban planning are a part of the institute.

SOURCE DTE Energy