Team Algal Scientific Wins Inaugural Clean Energy Prize

DTE Energy and University of Michigan clean energy business competition
designed to move new energy technology from the laboratory to the marketplace

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- A plan to use algae to
simultaneously treat wastewater and produce the raw materials for biofuels won
the inaugural Clean Energy Prize on Friday.

The competition was established by DTE Energy and the University of Michigan
along with sponsors, Masco Corporation Foundation and The Kresge Foundation,
to encourage entrepreneurship in Michigan and the development of clean energy
technology.

Team Algal Scientific Corp., comprised of business and engineering students
from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, earned the top
prize of $65,000.

"We put a lot of effort in, and we had tough competition," said team member
Bobby Levine, who is a doctoral student in the U-M Department of Chemical
Engineering. "I think we still have a lot of work to do, but we're excited to
plan the next phase."

Gerard Anderson, DTE Energy president and COO, presented the awards and told
team members and other attendees that the development of new energy
technologies holds promise for a cleaner environment and a more robust
economy. "With this in mind, we developed the Clean Energy Prize to serve as a
catalyst for students and faculty to bring clean energy technologies from
university labs to the market," he said. "We also see this prize as one of
many steps toward recapturing Michigan's past spirit of innovation and
entrepreneurship."

In Algal Scientific Corp.'s wastewater treatment system, algae would take up
nutrients at wastewater treatment plants in a more economical and
environmentally friendly way than the current state of the art. This method
uses no chemicals. Then, the nutrient-packed algae would be harvested and sent
to a plant to be converted directly to biofuels.

"We're trying to address two major global concerns: clean water and clean
energy," said Geoff Horst, an ecology doctoral student at MSU who developed
the technology, "and we can do that with one process."

Other members of the Algal Scientific team are Jeff Lebrun, M.B.A./M.S., a
2008 U-M graduate; Robert Levine, a U-M PhD candidate; and John Rice, a U-M
M.B.A./M.S. student.

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, organized the competition.

"This competition helps to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of the next
generation," said professor Stephen Forrest, vice president for research at
the University of Michigan. "One of the real characteristics of an
entrepreneur is that one way or another you get it done. You don't wait for
someone to say yes. You don't listen to people who say no. If you believe in
your ideas, you just go. The young people in this competition are exemplifying
that fortitude."

Forrest, an entrepreneur himself, is the William Gould Dow Collegiate
Professor of Electrical Engineering and a professor in the departments of
Physics and Materials Science and Engineering.

Open to students at all Michigan colleges and universities, the competition
required teams to develop business proposals that focused on renewable energy,
energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, environmental control
technologies, plug-in electric vehicles or energy storage. The competition
began with a field of 23 teams, which was narrowed to the three finalists
through three rounds of increasingly rigorous competitions.

On Friday, the finalists presented revised business plans and investor pitches
to a panel of judges including Ananth Ananthasubramaniam of DTE Energy
Ventures; Larry Laseter of Masco Corporation; Mark Huang of Novus Energy
Partners; Michael Gross of Beringea; and Dipender Saluja of Capricorn
Investment Group.

The judges awarded second place to Husk and third place to Ikanos Power. Husk
received a $21,000 prize for its proposal to use rice husk ash to make
insulation for refrigerators that's at least six times more efficient than
dominant technology. Ikanos Power received a $3,400 prize for its proposal to
produce fuel-flexible power generators for use first in military tanks and
tractor-trailers. 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.

Earlier, the SITumbra team, which proposed a rigid solar shading window system
configured to respond to seasonal variations with optimal energy efficiency,
was awarded Fourth Place and a $3,400 prize.

Melonie Colaianne, President of Masco Corporation Foundation, said the
opportunity to help spur innovative and collaborative solutions to clean
energy challenges attracted the foundation's support. "Masco Corporation
Foundation is delighted to participate as a Founding member in the
public/private partnership with the Clean Energy Prize competition," Colaianne
said. "The University of Michigan is a proven incubator for creativity and
collaboration. We appreciate the opportunity to help accelerate support for
its innovative, entrepreneurial approach to creating sustainable business
models and solutions while challenging Michigan's higher education community
and supporting our State's emerging role as a leader in clean energy."

The Foundation is funded by Masco (NYSE: MAS), one of the world's largest
manufacturers of brand name products and a leader in energy-efficient
solutions for builders and consumers. For more information, visit
www.masco.com or www.eflhome.com.

The Kresge Foundation also saw value in the competition's focus on innovation
and new business development. "The Kresge Foundation is deeply concerned about
both climate change and the economic strength of the Midwest," says Lois R.
DeBacker, senior program director for the Environment Program. "Our
grantmaking strives to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency
technologies, with a particular emphasis on the Midwest. We see the Clean
Energy Prize as a tool to drive innovation and new business development in
Michigan and reduce greenhouse gases. We're pleased to be a sponsor of a prize
that encourages new entrepreneurs in this state."

The Kresge Foundation is a $3.1 billion private, national foundation that
supports communities by building the capacity of nonprofit organizations in
six fields of interest: health, the environment, arts and culture, education,
human services and community development.

In partnership with grantees, Kresge seeks to influence the quality of life
for future generations by creating access and opportunity in underserved
communities, improving the health of low-income people, supporting artistic
expression, assisting in the revitalization of Detroit and advancing methods
for dealing with global climate change. In 2008, the foundation approved 342
grants totaling $181 million. For more information, visit www.kresge.org.

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.
The University of Michigan College of Engineering is ranked among the top
engineering schools in the country. At more than $130 million annually, its
engineering research budget is one of largest of any public university.
Michigan Engineering is home to 11 academic departments and a National Science
Foundation Engineering Research Center. The college plays a leading role in
the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and hosts the world class Lurie
Nanofabrication Facility. For more information, visit:
http://www.engin.umich.edu

SOURCE DTE Energy

Sue Nichols, Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, +1-734-615-5678,
suenic@umich.edu; Nicole Casal Moore, U-M News Service, +1-734-647-1838,
ncmoore@umich.edu; John J. Austerberry, DTE Energy, +1-313-235-8859,
austerberryj@dteenergy.com