  The production of light neutral mesons in AA collisions probes the physics of
the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), which is formed in heavy-ion collisions at the
LHC. More specifically, the centrality dependent neutral meson spectra in AA
collisions compared to its spectra in minimum-bias pp collisions, scaled with
the number of hard collisions, provides information on the energy loss of
partons traversing the QGP. The measurement allows to test with high precision
the predictions of theoretical model calculations. In addition, the decay of
the $\pi^{0}$ and $\eta$ mesons are the dominant backgrounds for all direct
photon measurements. Therefore, pushing the limits of the precision of neutral
meson production is key to learning about the temperature and space-time
evolution of the QGP. In the ALICE experiment neutral mesons can be detected
via their decay into two photons. The latter can be reconstructed using the two
calorimeters EMCal and PHOS or via conversions in the detector material. The
excellent momentum resolution of the conversion photons down to very low
$p_{\mathrm{T}}$ and the high reconstruction efficiency and triggering
capability of calorimeters at high $p_{\mathrm{T}}$, allow us to measure the
$p_{\mathrm{T}}$ dependent invariant yield of light neutral mesons over a wide
kinematic range. Combining state-of-the-art reconstruction techniques with the
high statistics delivered by the LHC in Run 2 gives us the opportunity to
enhance the precision of our measurements. In these proceedings, new ALICE run
2 preliminary results for neutral meson production in pp and Pb--Pb collisions
at LHC energies are presented.
