The total annual global energy consumption is set at least to double from its current level by 2050 and it appears that mankind urgently needs to find new ways to produce clean, renewable sources of energy that do not produce green house gases. Given the fact that the amount of solar energy that hits the Earth every hour meets the world's annual energy requirements, it becomes clear that solar driven energy production represents a sustainable long-term solution for that problem. The various natural light-harvesting systems in photosynthesis, which might serve as blueprints for the construction of novel solar cells based on organic matter, testify that organic materials are very well suited to harvest solar energy. In contrast to classical semiconductor materials they offer several advantages such as lightweight, self-assembly, and low-cost production to mention a few.

The development of future organic-matter based light-harvesting technologies requires research with input from biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Aim of the conference Light-Harvesting Processes is to gather about 100 scientists from various backgrounds who are working in the field and to provide a platform for interdisciplinary communication and the exchange of concepts.