Using the noble metal free combination of a copper based photosensitizer and a cobalt diimine-dioxime complex as water reduction catalyst we obtained a turnover number of 1184 with the help of triethylamine as sacrificial donor in the presence of triphenylphosphane (PPh3). The exchange of PPh3 with other tertiary phosphane ligands did not have a major impact on the activity. Furthermore we performed the crystal structure of the Co(I) intermediate, and we could characterize the catalytically active species of the system.