Professor of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, US, Jeff DeGraff has advised the state of Michigan to tap in the global alternative energy or what is popularly known as “green tech” to revive its economy. Degraff’s comment comes after Detroit, the capital city of Michigan, declared bankruptcy on July 18, 2013. Detroit was once the automotive capital of the US, if not the world.
He quoted a recent study where it stated that the clean technology market is expanding at a rate of almost 90 %, “year-over-year, for the next five years and expand to more than US$5 trillion”. This boom, some say, is expected to create 10 million new jobs.
“What you may not know is that many clean tech innovations are emerging from the automotive industry here in Michigan, including eco-design, renewable power generation, composite materials, fuel cells and alternative drive technology,” DeGraff said.