Veeco Instruments announced  that OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH has completed an agreement naming Veeco as the supplier for Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) and Precision Surface Processing (PSP) systems needed for high-volume LED production in Kulim. As part of the agreement, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has ordered multiple TurboDisc® EPIK®700 Gallium Nitride (GaN) MOCVD, and WaferStorm® 3306 PSP Wet Process systems.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVLT) ("Revolution Lighting"), a global provider of advanced LED lighting solutions, today announced that it has recently completed LED retrofit projects for religious facilities within New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, totaling US $800,000. This includes the comprehensive LED lighting retrofit, led by its distributor GB Energie LED, of the Southern Friendship Missionary Baptist Church ("the Church") facilities, based in Temple Hills, Maryland.

Dinos Café, a popular old-fashion American diner located in Bloomingdale, Illinois replaced their outdated 250 watt HID lights on their rooftop with weather resistant, vibrant, state-of-the-art color changing 30w Serenity LED floodlights. These LED floodlights are remote-controlled with 32 different color options and are part of the Serenity LED Rainbow Series. Serenity LED, a U.S. based innovative lighting company, manufactured these LED Floodlights and used a US Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business to install the lights.

After halting trade on the Chinese bourse for four consecutive months, Kingsun Optoelectronics recently announced its Hong Kong subsidiary will be acquiring China’s leading international education enterprise NIT Group for RMB 2.9 billion (US $41.76 million)

The Baker-Polito Administration today announced US $11.4 million in grant funding opportunities to help cities and towns across Massachusetts convert traditional streetlights to LED technology through the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Rapid LED Streetlight Conversion Program. DOER has partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC), Energy New England (ENE), and four Municipal Light Plant (MLP) communities to administer the grant funding to municipalities that currently own their traditional streetlights and expedite streetlight conversions.

The Odisha Government will supply energy efficient LED tube lights and ceiling fans at subsidized rates, said state government Energy Secretary Rajesh Verma.

 David Errigo, vice president of sales for luminaire manufacturer LumenOptix, has been elected chair of the National Lighting Bureau (NLB), the independent, not-for-profit, lighting-education foundation sponsored by professional societies, trade associations, manufacturers, utilities, and agencies of the U.S. government.

Foxconn subsidiary Sharp will no longer be supplying LCD panels to Samsung Electronics starting in 2017, a report from The Japan Times cited industry sources saying.

Higher living standards in the modern world has transformed luminaires from a simple light source, to a lighting device that provides mood setting ambient lighting, visual stimulation, create a comfortable environment lit with soft light beams. These developments are making secondary optic designs in luminaires increasingly important, Taiwan-based Chung Kuang Optics (CKO) which specializes in the art of lighting designs, assisted manufacturers in their international branding strategies to make premium products. The company’s investments to build a new facility in 2017 has also caught industry attention.

India, one of the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gasses, aims to extend its lighting efficiency program to seven other Asian countries and the UK with aid from the World Bank, reported Bloomberg.

Maharashtra state in India became the second largest distributor of LED bulbs in the nation-wide campaign to slash energy consumption, reported The Hindu.

Royal Philips concluded its LED component business sale after the takeover was delayed for nearly one year, due to national security concerns raised by The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUs) earlier in January this year.

Redirecting focus onto the Chinese LED lighting market, Elech-Tech International (ETI) announced it will be transferring all its international lighting business assets to its Hong Kong subsidiary and sell the company to Jadestone China High-technology Industry Investment Fund (Jadestone).

Royal Philips announced that it has signed an agreement to sell an 80.1% interest in Lumileds, a leading supplier of LED components and automotive lighting, to certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries: “Apollo”). Philips will retain the remaining 19.9% interest* in Lumileds. 

The Delta State Government in Nigeria announced recently it will be raking in 65 million Naira (US $ 206,185.85) annually from its LED display boards installed throughout the state, reported Channels21 TV.

ALPHA-RLH (Route des Lasers & des Hyperfréquences) is a newly formed technology cluster specializing in photonics, lasers, microwave and digital technologies. It is the result of a merger between two French competitiveness clusters, Route des Lasers and Elopsys.

Holiday lighting is expected to add 750-800 megawatts (MW) to the level of electricity used by New Yorkers this season, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) reports.

Brighton and Hove Council in UK is set to save more than GBP 200,000 (US $ 251,720) a year and slash its energy and carbon footprint by introducing new LED street lighting.

Chinese equipment manufacturer Jiangsu Huasheng Tianlong Photoelectric sealed a large monocrystalline silicon growth furnace order from equipment manufacturer SuperBrain valuing RMB 186 million (US $29.95 million).

AIXTRON, one of the world’s leading providers of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced today that Grand Chip Investment GmbH (GCI) declared today that the voluntary public takeover offer for the acquisition of all shares, including all shares represented by ADSs, of AIXTRON SE (AIXTRON) by GCI published on July 29, 2016 has lapsed due to the non-fulfillment of an offer condition.

Chinese LED manufacturer Lianovation filed a suit against Hanen Digital Interconnect Culture (Hanen Digital) for not returning earnest money after the two organizations canceled an acquisition deal, reported Chinese-language media Sinai.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, to promote local manufacturing of LED bulbs fell flat when suppliers could not keep up with the large volume of demands, reported The Quint.

The chances of Chinese investor Grand Chip Investment (GCI) acquiring Aixtron are looking rather slim, following U.S. President Barack Obama recent order that bans the business transaction, reported Bloomberg.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced it is close to concluding Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) talks in Geneva, Switzerland, which would reduce tariffs for eco-friendly products including LED lights, bikes, and recycled paper products.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science published the Fiscal Year 2017 Phase I, Release 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on November 28, 2016, for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. Under DE-FOA-0001619, whose complete listing of technical topics was released on October 31, DOE seeks applicants for grants directed toward FY17 Phase I, Release 2 projects. Topics for this funding opportunity can be found at //science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities and include LED and OLED lighting (see topic 10b).

Facing a severe operation crisis Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronic is considering to take the advice of hedge fund management firm Elliott Management Corporation to spin-off into two independent legal entities, The Seoul Economic Daily cited sources familiar with the matter.

China’s LED lighting market value will surpass RMB 500 billion (US $72.45 billion) by 2016, said Ling Wu, the Secretary General of China’s International Solid State Alliance (ISA).

Surging investments made by Chinese firms in EU high-tech industries is fueling conflict between Beijing, Berlin and Brussels, reported The Politico.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s abrupt demonization policies launched on Nov. 8, 2016 and its ripple effect has left a dent for LED manufacturers relying heavily on cash transactions, reported The Hindu.

Technavio analysts forecast the global automotive adaptive front lighting system market to grow at a CAGR of almost 13% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.