This research was performed using HPC resources from GENCI CINES and IDRIS 2013 (c2013096724) ; International audience ; Potentialities of density functional theory (DFT) based methodologies are explored for photovoltaic materials through the modeling of the structural and optoelectronic properties of semiconductor hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites and GaAs/GaP heterostructures. They show how the properties of these bulk materials, as well as atomistic relaxations, interfaces, and electronic band-lineups in small heterostructures, can be thoroughly investigated. Some limitations of available standard DFT codes are discussed. Recent improvements able to treat many-body effects or based on density-functional perturbation theory are also reviewed in the context of issues relevant to photovoltaic technologies.