Dow Sponsors “Electric Avenue” at Detroit Auto Show
January 28, 2010

Dow’s Electric Avenue featured approximately 20 electric vehicles.

At the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) held January 11-24 in Detroit, car lovers experienced a new attraction that showcased the industry’s electric vehicles and technology.

The Dow Chemical Company, parent company of Dow Automotive, sponsored Electric Avenue, a 37,000-square-foot exhibit that showcased electric vehicles and technology of both traditional automakers and innovative entrepreneurs. The exhibit held on the Cobo Center’s main floor featured nearly 20 vehicles. Symposiums and special events were also held on the adjacent NAIAS stage.

“We are pleased to join NAIAS to showcase the significance of technology to the automotive industry,” says Heinz Haller, executive vice president, Performance Systems, Dow. “We believe developing and commercializing next-generation battery technology, for example, will help ensure the sustainability of the automotive industry while meeting the nation's energy and environmental goals and generating tens of thousands of green collar jobs in Michigan and throughout the nation.”

Dow is no stranger to electric vehicles. Through its joint venture with Townsend Kokam LLC, known as Dow Kokam, the company is investing in an 800,000-square-foot facility in Midland, Mich., to develop a new generation of high-power battery technology to supply the automotive industry and power the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles.

In addition to the Electric Avenue exhibit, show attendees saw the return of last year’s eco-ride. Sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), the EcoXperience turned the Michigan Hall downstairs into a quarter-mile track on which the public could ride in hybrid, electric and other alternative-energy vehicles.

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