معرفی
Marc Fontecave is a distinguished Professor at the Collège de France, where he holds the Chemistry of Biological Processes Chair since 2008. He heads the Chemistry of Biological Processes Laboratory, a joint research unit of the Collège de France-CNRS-Sorbonne University. Previously, he was a professor at Grenoble's Joseph-Fourier University starting in 1988, where he created and ran the Laboratoire de chimie et biologie des métaux at CEA-Grenoble.
His educational background includes being a former student of the École normale supérieure de l'enseignement technique, where he obtained the agrégation de sciences physiques, option chimie, in 1978. He earned his PhD in 1984 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden (1985-1986).
Professor Fontecave specializes in chemistry at the interface with biology, studying the structure and reactivity of complex enzymatic sites - metal centers within metalloenzymes and organic cofactors within flavoenzymes. His research encompasses metabolic and biosynthetic pathways such as cofactor biosynthesis and RNA modification. Through a bioinspired approach, he develops new molecular and solid catalysts for electrochemical solar energy storage technologies, including water decomposition into oxygen and hydrogen, and CO2 electrolysis.
His recent publications and lectures focus on artificial photosynthesis, CO2 conversion to fuels, hydrogen production, and energy transition strategies. His work bridges fundamental biochemical research with practical applications for sustainable energy solutions.
- Winner of the Energy Transition Award 2024
Professor Fontecave actively advises students and researchers in his laboratory, guiding work on bioinspired catalysts, energy storage systems, and sustainable fuel production. His research has been supported by numerous grants from French and international funding agencies focused on energy transition and sustainable chemistry.
He leads the Chemistry of Biological Processes Laboratory, which brings together interdisciplinary teams of chemists, biologists, and materials scientists working on the interface of biological processes and chemical applications for energy solutions.
