Over the past decade, we witnessed a remarkable development of a new generation of photovoltaic technologies, in particular dyesensitized and perovskite solar cells. These systems have demonstrated potential to provide solutions for a more sustainable future in energy conversion. Both of these technologies, however, still present a number of challenges that stimulate further research. While dye-sensitized solar cells would benefit from an effective transfer from solution-based to a solid-state technology, hybrid perovskite solar cells suffer from longterm operational instability that need to be addressed. In this perspective article, we provide an overview of the recent advancements along with the perspectives for future developments. Substantia, Vol 3 No 2 Suppl. 2 (2019)