Jennifer Granholm wants to transform Michigan from one of the Rust Belt’s bleakest corners to a mecca for green industries as the state loses tens of thousands of jobs in the car industry.

Jennifer Granholm backs Rick Wagoner, GM’s chief executive, at the Detroit car show. She has been criticised for wasting time on diversification plans

The state governor is laying claim to a $7bn (€5.5bn, £5bn) chunk of the US federal stimulus package to invest in projects such as the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, second-generation biofuels and turbines to harvest the abundant wind from the Great Lakes.