Research and development of a new and potentially low-cost class of solar materials has been given €4 million ($4.6 million) in funding by the European Commission with the establishment of a new research training network led by the University of Bath. Research and development of a new and potentially low-cost class of solar materials has been given €4 million in funding by the European Commission. Courtesy of the University of Bath. MAESTRO (making perovskites truly exploitable) has begun hiring researchers to gain new knowledge and provide innovation in the exploitation of perovskite materials, which recent breakthroughs have demonstrated show great potential as a solar material. A trans-European project, MAESTRO is an intersectoral and multidisciplinary network of 10 academic and seven industrial partners from nine European Union and EU-associated countries: the U.K., Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Israel, and Switzerland. Perovskites are a new class of light absorber material for solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. These solar materials recently attracted worldwide attention when the efficiency of the cells increased at the fastest pace in the history of solar energy conversion. The material’s low cost and ease of fabrication have made them a highly attractive prospect for the solar market and the LED display industry. MAESTRO has been established to make perovskite-based devices commercially viable. "Tremendous progress has been made on perovskite technologies since they were found to be good solar absorbers at the start of the decade, and now MAESTRO will help us unlock their full potential,” said Alison Walker, physics professor at the University of Bath and MAESTRO coordinator. "Improving device lifetime, increasing the scale of manufacturing, eliminating the effect of material toxicity, and boosting efficiency will further establish perovskite as the solar material of the future." MAESTRO researchers will combine expertise and state-of the-art infrastructure to find means of increasing cell stability and maintaining record efficiencies when moving to large-scale manufacturing processes. They also aim to help EU and associate countries meet environmental emissions targets, as well as strengthen European competitiveness in global markets by helping secure the future of EU solar and displays sectors.