The initial meeting of the EPSRC-JSPS Core to Core Polyoxometalate Network took place at the Hiroshima International Conference Centre, Japan, between 16th and 18th July 2019. The main meeting of principle investigators was preceded by a young researcher seminar on July 16th. Approximately 60 researchers took part during the three day event. The quality of all the presentations was high, with a great number of the talks contributed by young researchers – 24 in total. The book of abstracts shows the impressive breadth of topics in polyoxometalate science that this new network has assembled. 

Talks on applications for polyoxometalates (POMs) included topics as varied as dye-sensitized solar cells, redox flow batteries, fundamental topics such as charge storage and electron transfer, photocatalysis for generating solar fuels, new redox materials, biomass valorization and many new materials for industrial catalysis. Participants in the network come from five countries: Japan, France, Germany, China and the United Kingdom – encompassing dozens of institutions. This kick-off meeting demonstrated the impressive knowledge, resources and expertise within the network and will naturally spawn new collaborations between Japan and other participating countries. The host of the meeting, Prof. Masahiro Sadakane of Hiroshima University, is thanked for running such a successful event and facilitating an atmosphere of open scientific co-operation. The network will now support joint collaborations, seminars and scientific exchanges over the next five years.