About e-conversion

Image: V. Hiendl/e-conversion

How can we convert and store energy more efficiently and sustainably? This question lies at the heart of e-conversion. The Cluster of Excellence investigates interfaces – the areas where light, charge, and matter come together. At these junctions, the key processes of energy conversion take place. This is where the joint Cluster of Excellence of the Technical University of Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, together with its partner institutions (see below), concentrates its research efforts.

e-conversion brings together more than 40 research groups working to understand the structures, phenomena, and processes at interfaces in detail. The reason: Whether in solar cells, (photo)catalytic reactors, or batteries, the mechanisms of energy conversion at the microscopic and (sub-)atomic level are remarkably similar. Despite different classes of materials, processes such as charge separation and ion transport exhibit comparable characteristics. e-conversion therefore follows a cross-cutting approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries and leverages synergies between seemingly distinct energy technologies.

Understanding what happens at interfaces, why losses or limitations occur there, and how excitation and energy conversion processes can ultimately be better controlled are central questions of the cluster. In the first funding period, researchers successfully investigated fundamental processes of energy conversion using model systems. They established a comprehensive portfolio of high-resolution and ultrafast microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, enabling the analysis of a wide variety of materials. This work led to the development of a diverse set of semiconductors, nanostructures, and other functional systems, opening new avenues in energy research.

In the second funding period, the focus shifts to more realistic energy systems, further refinement of methods, and tighter integration of research areas. Another key goal is to deliberately control complex mechanisms at interfaces and to develop sustainable strategies that maximize the efficiency of existing systems while creating novel hybrid concepts for energy conversion and storage. In parallel, researchers look ahead to combine high-throughput experiments, computer simulations, and AI-based models to accelerate the development of innovative energy concepts and materials. Hybrid concepts will play a larger role – such as the solar battery, which aims to combine light harvesting and energy storage within a single material system. Creative ideas like this emerge where chemistry, physics, materials science, and data science meet – at the “interfaces” between disciplines that e-conversion brings together – the ideal setting for the energy concepts of the future.

Participating institutions:

• Technical University of Munich
• Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research
• Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
• Deutsches Museum München