Fuel Science Center

The increasing availability of non-fossil-based energy technologies opens up unprecedented opportunities for redesigning the interfaces between energy and material value chains for a sustainable future. The fundamental research conducted by the FSC Cluster of Excellence creates the foundation for an integrated conversion of renewable electricity with biomass-based raw materials and CO2 to liquid energy sources with a high energy density (bio-hybrid fuels) that allow for highly efficient and clean combustion. The (electro)catalytic production of fuels as well as chemicals is considered a significant enabler of flexible, sustainable, and economic value chains.  Emission-minimized, molecularly controlled combustion systems are being researched for the reconversion of chemically stored energy. Methodological concepts are being developed in order to derive predictions from an analytical description to evaluate the environmental impact, economic efficiency, and societal relevance of the technological developments.

The FSC strengthens disciplinary competencies in the natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences and pools them to form a dynamic team structure. Forward integration is accomplished from fundamental research in the individual disciplines through to the complex overall system. Simultaneously, system-level information is propagated back by inverse methodologies to enable a coordinated design of molecules and machines.