For the last 60 years scientist and engineers have been striving to make electronic devices which convert sun light directly into usable electricity. These photovoltaic cells are now so efficient that over the last 10 years, the cost of producing electricity from sun light is now cheaper in some places in the world than the production of electricity from coal fired power stations. We are now therefore at a tipping point, where increased future power generation capacity will be dominated by photovoltaics, due to economics rather than environmental concerns. This lecture will explore key discoveries and advancements of a new family of photovoltaic materials that have emerged over the last few years and promise to deliver the next generation of more efficient and cheaper photovoltaic cells. The lecture was recorded on April 26 2017 at the Royal Society. For more events like this, see our schedule - ow.ly/KhTi306gTN1