Congratulations to Dr. Golo Storch for winning one of the prestigous ERC Starting Grants 2023. Starting Grants are intended for scientists who are still in the early phases of their careers. The Grants are endowed with as much as 1.5 million euros.

Reduction reactions play a major role in many processes in the chemical industry. Here the transfer of electrons results in the transformation of a raw material into the desired product. In organic chemistry the high reduction potential necessary for this process is usually taken from metals such as sodium, potassium or lithium, which are difficult to produce. In the ERC project "Artificial Catalysts for Endergonic Reduction by Electron Bifurcation", BifurCAT, Dr. Golo Storch and his team are applying a trick found in nature to make this kind of reaction possible with less effort. They are following the example of enzymes where what is called electron bifurcation takes place. At a reaction center of the enzyme two electrons from a molecule are transferred to the catalyst. Then the central step takes place: The two electrons are spatially separated in the catalyst. Here some of the energy of one of the electrons is transferred to the other, so that instead of two electrons with the same energy level, one electron with a higher reduction potential and one with a lower reduction potential result. This higher reduction potential can then be used for the desired reduction. Should the team succeed in realizing this process in the laboratory for the first time, it would be possible to utilize substances such as ascorbic acid or formic acid, which exist in large quantities, as energy sources for demanding reduction reactions.