President Clinton Tours NextEnergy Center, Sees Great Potential for Michigan's Alternative Energy Industry

President Clinton was given a personal tour of NextEnergy by CEO Jim Croce, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and other Michigan leaders to assess Michigan's alternative energy industry

DETROIT, April 30 -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton spent an hour and a half on April 29 touring the NextEnergy Center in Detroit's TechTown on the Wayne State University campus. Invited by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and hosted by NextEnergy CEO Jim Croce and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, President Clinton was engaged and enthusiastic as he reviewed over a dozen on-site displays by both major automotive manufacturers as well as Michigan entrepreneurs in the developing wind, solar, hydrogen, energy storage, and advanced power train industries.

Displaying their technology and answering President Clinton's questions were officials from Michigan companies: Adaptive Materials Inc. (fuel cells), Danotek Motion Technologies (wind power generators), Energy Conversion Devices (hydrogen systems), Hybra-Drive (hybrid hydraulic power trains), Menova Energy (solar), NEXTEK Power Systems (renewable energy power gateway), REB Research (hydrogen reformation), Titan Energy Development (mobile utility backup systems), TJ Technologies (energy storage) and United Solar Ovonic (photovoltaics). Also represented were DTE Energy, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation and the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). NextEnergy supports the efforts of these participating organizations and others in bringing their advanced energy technologies to market. President Clinton spoke with all the display presenters and asked a wide array of questions.

President Clinton's weekend in Detroit culminated with a keynote address at the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund dinner on April 29 where he urged the 10,000 attendees to support alternative energy and NextEnergy's efforts to diversify our nation's energy supplies and the revitalization of Michigan's economy.

About NextEnergy

NextEnergy, Michigan's alternative energy accelerator, is a non-profit corporation founded to enable the commercialization of energy technologies that positively contribute to the nation's economic competitiveness, energy security and the environment. NextEnergy drives energy technology collaborations, market development, and new business venture support to position Michigan as a leader in the emerging alternative energy industry. For more information please visit http://www.nextenergy.org/.