A new $200 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan will finance installation of millions of energy-efficient lights in streets and homes and energy-efficient water pumps in farms across India, leading to energy savings of around 3,800 gigawatt-hours per year, equivalent to the annual output of two 300-megawatt coal-fired power stations. 

Global leading research institute CEA LETI (LETI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry (III) earlier Monday at the Howard Plaza Hotel in Taipei.

More than 300 attendees turned up at LEDforum 2016, large numbers of visitors that signed up for the forum last minute queued patiently in front of the registration desk, a sight event organizers have not seen since 2011, said Roger Chu, director of research at LEDinside.

Osram Opto Semiconductors has produced a broad area laser diode with a lateral brilliance of up to 4.8 W/(mm*mrad) in the laboratory. The more brilliant the laser, the more efficiently it can inject its light into optical fibers. This then increases the output power of modules for pumping fiber lasers used for material processing. This progress is one of the results of the project “Integrated microoptical and microthermal elements for diode lasers of high brilliance” (IMOTHEB) which was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and which has now been successfully completed. 

The six month run of NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Conditions Index (EBCI) scoring 50 or higher has ended with September’s result of 47.1. Dropping below 50 suggests that current conditions are no longer conducive for expansion in the electrical manufacturing sector. Only 24% of respondents reported better conditions in September, versus 33% last month. The share of respondents reporting worse conditions nearly doubled from 17% in August to 29% this month, while the proportion of panel members who noted unchanged conditions showed little movement—47% this time compared to 50% last month.

In a 25,000-square-foot commercial office on the Rensselaer Technology Park campus in Troy, N.Y., scientists from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are making plans to install LED lighting with fixture-integrated and network-connected lighting controls. The controls are being tested in a broad-based field evaluation to compare and quantify the additional benefits that connected lighting systems offer to users. LRC research scientists will investigate everything from ease of installation to user satisfaction. This is just one of many projects that the LRC’s Solid-State Lighting Program has undertaken to expand its research capabilities into new fields where solid-state lighting (SSL) can provide benefits.

The Munich-based lighting company Osram has received a major order from BMW Group to convert eight of the car manufacturer's plants in Germany and Austria to modern and energy-saving LED technology. The order is one of the largest for Osram's Lighting Solutions (LS) Business Unit to date. The up to 170,000 luminaires covered by the framework agreement are being installed in several phases through to the end of 2017. "We are delighted to have received this major order. Our innovative LED luminaires will convert the lighting in BMW Group’s plants to cutting-edge technology and bring considerable savings in energy", said Eladia Pulido, CEO of Osram Lighting Solutions.

NET LED Lighting is delighted to announce it is the sole distributor of the LG LED Essentials Low/High Bay range to UK electrical wholesalers. These products expand the range of High Bays available through NET LED and promise to make energy savings simple for businesses with a simple plug-and-play control sensor.

LEDinside team would like to apologize for the lack of updates over the last two days. Taiwan was particularly hard hit by Typhoon Megi over the past two days, and the country declared consecutive days off for workers. Although, we made the announcement through various social media channels, we would like to apologize for the lack of news during this time frame and the inconvinence caused.

Taiwanese LED company Lianovation announced last Friday it will be halting trade on the Chinese bourse as of Monday this week, due to uncertainties in a recent acquisition caused by changes in the capital market, management environment, and company restructure.

A city located in eastern India, Chennai is finanlizing its second phase streetlight extension which will value an estimated INR 1.45 billion (US $200 million) and install 74,000 new LED streetlights in an expanded area.

Udaipur, a city in western Indian state Rajasthan, recently rolled out a massive LED streetlight replacement.

Plainville, a town located in Connecticut, U.S. is installing hundreds of LED streetlights with some featuring advanced connectivity technology, reported NBC Universal.

GE has unlocked the wide color gamut potential for mobile phones, tablets, PCs and TVs with its RadiantRed™ Technology, delivering greater overall color and the truest red color possible in LED-backlit LCD displays. The technology offers manufacturers the ability to create the brightest, most colorful LED HD displays available for a wide range of devices, including the next generation of mobile devices and high dynamic range (HDR) TVs.

Feilo Acoustics the lighting arm of INESA announced it will be scaling up investments in smart lighting by forming a joint venture with two other Chinese companies, including a state-owned investment company.

Fingerprint recognition will soon become outdated in smartphone applications, in its place iris recognition will emerge as the new trending technology, and might even drive mobile payment developments, according to ABI Research’s latest report.

A team of LESA faculty and graduate students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Boston University were recently awarded a US Patent titled, “Sensory Lighting System and Method for Characterizing an Illumination Space.” The patent describes how the LED lighting system in a space can detect occupants’ presence, location and pose without the use of cameras, thereby preserving the privacy of the room’s occupants.

Sogeprom, major property developer subsidiary of Société Générale Group and Lucibel, French LED lighting specialist, present a high bandwidth LiFi light prototype, a technology for wireless communication through light with game changing advantages vs WiFi.

At the OLEDs World Summit in San Diego, Kateeva, the OLED production equipment leader, reported that its YIELDjet™ FLEX system has earned a commanding lead in the key organic layer deposition step in the OLED Thin Film Encapsulation (TFE) market. Since the novel inkjet printing solution debuted in manufacturing in 2014, the company has secured the vast majority of available TFE orders. Customers include the world’s largest flat panel display manufacturers located in three key Asia regions.

Refond Optoelectronics recently announced its board members approved two proposals including the termination of its subsidiary in Dongyuan city in Guangdong Province, China, and forming a joint venture with foreign investors.

Rising VR, security and small pitch LED display demands has led to severe shortage in AlInGaP LEDs, reported Chinese-language newspaper Commercial Times.

The Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC) based in North Carolina, U.S. has finished 85% of its streetlight upgrade from sodium-vapor lights to brighter energy-saving LED bulbs, reported Fayobserver.

Lighting Science®, a global leader in next-generation LED lighting solutions, today announced the appointment of Jon Brody as Senior Director of Retail Sales. Brody comes to Lighting Science following senior positions at consumer electronics leaders Binatone (a licensee of Motorola) and Jawbone. In his new role, Brody will assume responsibility for expanding the company’s retail channels nationwide.

Men exposed to bright light therapy can receive a testosterone level boost that can lead to greater sexual satisfaction then those with a lower sex drive, according to a study presented by University of Siena in Italy at ECNP conference in Vienna.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, and Huawei Technologies have signed a partnership agreement to ensure the seamless interoperability of the Philips Hue connected lighting system for the home with Huawei’s OceanConnect Internet of Things (IoT) platform. Under the agreement, Huawei will become a ‘Friends of Hue’ partner and Philips Lighting an OceanConnect partner, so that customers using Huawei’s IoT platform will be able to offer their end users a certified user experience with full control of Philips Hue lighting.

Cree has been named the exclusive Official Lighting Partner of the Cleveland Browns. Cree and the Browns have partnered to continue to deliver a better fan experience with recent lighting improvements made to the Cree branded gate at FirstEnergy Stadium. This season, fans will enjoy a better lighting experience with new Cree® LED lighting installed throughout the gate, as well as a new escalator wrap that gives fans bright ideas for saving with LED lighting while having fun on game-day.

Power management company Eaton announced that it is demonstrating its Streetworks wireless smart city solutions featuring LED outdoor luminaires with CIMCON’s intelligent, wireless controls, sensors and software products at the IES Street and Area Lighting Conference in Hollywood, California, on September 18 to 21 at the Lowes Hotel at booth 40 and 41.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, announced the launch of its new five-year sustainability program ‘Brighter Lives, Better World’ during the Climate Week NYC. This is the first time Philips Lighting has set sustainability goals as a standalone, listed company, building on the long legacy of Philips’ world class performance in sustainability and its EcoVision programs. Earlier this month, Philips won anindustry group leader position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Capital Goods categoryafter four years of consecutive nominations. Philips Lighting had an integral role in this achievement with its sustainable revenues reaching 72% of its total sales in 2015.

San’an Opto announced last Thursday it has temporarily shut down its LED manufacturing sites in Xiamen, Fujian province of China for repairs, due to damages caused by Typhoon Meranti last weekend.

Osram Opto announced it will be appointing general LED lighting veteran Dr. Jiaping Shao as its new Solid State Lighting sales leader in China.