ANN ARBOR ? A University of Michigan professor and student have developed a "subconscious mode" for smartphones and other WiFi-enabled mobile devices could extend battery life by as much as 54 percent for users on the busiest networks. UM computer science and engineering professor Kang Shin and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang will present their new
DETROIT - DTE Energy is offering a new incentive and reward program for its large commercial and industrial customers that will be equivalent to taking 23,000 cars off the road. DTE Energy also announced it plans to issue Requests for Proposals to add energy efficient programs to its electric profile. DTE Energy will offer 125,000
LANSING - The Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development approved Wednesday the standards farms have to meet to be in the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program and the process for measuring whether they met those standards. The commission has only been required to approve the standards since March when the MAEAP became statutory, but they
LANSING - A regional compact regulating how invasive species are handled in the Great Lakes is the goal of legislation under initial review Thursday by the Senate Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Committee. Similar to the Great Lakes Water Compact, which governs water withdrawal out of the basin and lakes, SB 508 , SB 509 and
DETROIT - The worldwide market for Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles will reach almost $9 billion by 2015, when 2.5 million hybrids, 300,000 plug-in hybrids and 500,000 electric vehicles will be coming down production lines. This growth will, however, be accompanied by massive overcapacity. Over the next few years, we will see Li-ion battery production
WASHINGTON DC ? The Department of Energy will give grants to three Michigan organizations to help make solar energy systems more cost effective. The three organizations to receive awards are: * Cascade Engineering, Grand Rapids, $602,623: Racking system for commercial rooftops using polymers. * Raymond Tinnerman Manufacturing, Rochester Hills, $1.67 million: Bracket system for commercial
LANSING ? Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and his colleagues in most of the other Great Lakes states have said they are expanding a coalition to try to seal off a connection between the lakes and the Mississippi River that has allowed for invasive species to travel between the waterways. While the issue of preventing
LANSING - Consumers Energy has paid Michigan companies $2.8 million and awarded $71 million in multi-year contracts in the first three months of its involvement in the state's new Pure Michigan Business Connect initiative. The public/private initiative announced in June could mean as much as $3 billion would be available to Michigan businesses. The utility
DETROIT? DTE Energy is more than halfway to its renewable energy goal with a contract to purchase 120 megawatts from a wind farm in Tuscola, Bay and Saginaw counties. The $485 million contract with Tuscola Bay Wind LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, was approved Thursday by the Michigan Public Service Commission. DTE Energy will
DETROIT - NextCat, developed with Wayne State University technology and incubated at TechTown, was awarded nearly $500,000 from the National Science Foundation, bringing total investment in the biofuel company to $1.3 million. The $498,830 grant was a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award. NextCat is working to advance a biofuel catalyst technology developed at