To help move clean energy technologies from the laboratory to commercial production, DTE Energy has joined with the University of Michigan to conduct an annual entrepreneurship competition that will challenge teams from Michigan colleges and universities to develop the best plan for bringing new clean-energy technologies to market.

DTE Energy Chairman and CEO Anthony F. Earley Jr. announced the creation of the DTE Clean Energy Prize at the company's annual meeting Thursday.

"Our goal is to drive promising clean energy ideas and technologies from the research lab to commercialization," Earley said. "To do that, we are making a five-year, $450,000 commitment to fund the DTE Clean Energy Prize, a new competition open to the best and brightest students and faculty at Michigan's colleges and universities."

The prize pool for the 2009 competition will be $100,000, which will be divided among the winning teams. For subsequent years, it is expected that the prize pool will be $200,000.

The prize competition will be hosted by the University of Michigan, but will be open to students and faculty from all Michigan colleges and universities. For the first year, each team must have at least one University of Michigan student or faculty member. Details of the competition still are being finalized, but the initial competition will be held this fall with prize to be awarded next spring.

As application forms, deadlines and other details are finalized, that information will be posted on the DTE Clean Energy Prize Web site. To reach that site, visit www.dteenergy.com and search for Clean Energy Prize.

The competition will require that teams focus on business ideas that support renewable energy, energy efficiency and demand response, greenhouse gas and environmental control technologies and energy storage.

The business plan entries will be judged by independent panels that will include leaders from the venture capital, business, industry and academic communities.

The prize will help the winning teams develop businesses that can contribute to Michigan's emerging role as a leader in clean energy technologies.

"The DTE Clean Energy Prize expands on our efforts to develop Michigan-based energy businesses and we are pleased to contribute to that development in this exciting way," Earley said.

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.