ANN ARBOR, MI-- Enertia, a team of three University of Michigan graduate students with a plan to harness vibrations to power small electronics, won the top prize of $50,000 in the 2009-2010 Clean Energy Prize business plan competition.
The final rounds of competition were held Friday at U-M's Ross School of Business.
Enertia impressed the judges with its plan for a device that can harness vibrations to generate electricity to power small electronics, such as remote sensors and surgically implanted medical equipment. The small generators provide renewable electrical power while replacing toxic electrochemical batteries.
The Clean Energy Prize competition was established by DTE Energy and the University of Michigan to encourage entrepreneurship in Michigan and the development of clean-energy technologies. The Masco Corporation Foundation and The Kresge Foundation were Clean Energy Prize founding sponsors and they continue to support the competition. Additional sponsors include UBS Investment Bank, Google and Nth Power, a clean-tech venture capital company.
The 2009-2010 competition was open to all Michigan colleges and universities and began with 32 teams representing six schools. The field was pared down to four finalists through four rounds of judging, the first of which was held Nov. 23, 2009. The teams were competing for shares of a $100,000 prize pool.
Enertia team member Adam Carver, a dual MBA/MS student at U-M's Erb Institute for Global Sustainability, said the top prize money "enables us to advance our research and development and business expansion." He added that the Clean Energy Prize had intangible benefits as well. "The competition encouraged us to carry out the hard work necessary to develop our ideas. Winning the prize also enhances our brand as we seek to connect with various partners and business advisors in the future."
The other members of Enertia are Tzeno Galchev and Ethem Erkan Aktakka, both PhD Fellows at the NSF Engineering Research Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems (WIMS) at the U-M College of Engineering.
Gerry Anderson, DTE Energy president and COO, said the goal of the Clean Energy Prize is to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in Michigan. "We see the competition as a catalyst for students and faculty at Michigan's universities to bring new energy technologies out of the labs and into the marketplace," he said. "And in doing that, it helps create a culture of innovators and the venture capitalists that support them."
Anderson told the competitors, "What you did as part of this Clean Energy Prize competition is exactly what we need more of in Michigan."
Algal Scientific, which won last year's Clean Energy Prize, exemplifies the goal of the competition. The team has gone on to secure additional funding and has started operations in an Ann Arbor-area lab with eight employees. Its technology uses algae to clean wastewater and provide a feedstock for biofuel. The company expects to deploy its system on a commercial scale later this year in mid-Michigan.
This year's competition was organized largely by students. The U-M Ross School of Business' Ross Energy Club along with the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship organized the competition. Several other University of Michigan entities also provided support, including the College of Engineering's Center for Entrepreneurship, the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, the U-M Business Engagement Center and MPowered Entrepreneurship.
DTE Energy
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