The e-conversion Cluster of Excellence is a joint initiative of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), together with partner institutions Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, and the Deutsches Museum München. The Cluster focuses on researching energy conversion processes that take place at interfaces. Wherever light, charges, and matter interact, the Cluster explores the fundamentals of future energy technologies.
How can energy be converted and stored more efficiently and sustainably? This question lies at the heart of e-conversion. The Cluster 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 Cluster 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. 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 second funding period the research focuses on more realistic energy systems, further refinement of methods, and tighter integration of research areas. Another key goal is to deliberately control complex 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.
(Planned) Support Activities for Postdocs
Career Coaching | Emerging Scientist Representative | Fellowships and Emerging Leaders Program (Starting 2029) | Annual Retreats | Networking Events | Seed Funding | Energy-Themed Workshops
Recruiting
Open positions in the Cluster e-conversion are advertised by the individual PIs involved and currently published on the cluster’s job page and on the job portals of the Technical University of Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, and the Deutsches Museum München.
Find out more
