Earth-abundant and cheap 3.generation solar cell materials (e.g. kesterite structured copper-zinc-tin-sulfide and organic photovoltaics), require substantially lower energy input in the manufacturing process, compared to the conventional silicon solar cells. Thus upscaling the production of these materials for solar cell production in order to replace current polluting energy technologies is crucial for negating anthropogenic CO2-emission and resulting global climate change. There is still considerable room for improvement, when comparing the current efficiency to theory. In order to pave the way for the upscaling of these 3.generation solar cells it is important to study the materials, identify the obstacles and develop methods for large scale production. In SEEWHI we have made full 3D quantifiable images of whole solar cell devices and used ultrafast spectroscopy to track charge currents and have correlated these with 3D models of charge generation and transport. We have used this combination of experiment and theory to predict and verify the optimal structure and have used in-line X-ray scattering techniques to monitor and control the structure during high-speed roll-to-roll coating of such solar cells.