Osram and Epistar have been especially active this week. The German lighting giant has announced many new developments one week ahead of its latest financial result announcement. Changes in the company structure include the appointment of their new CFO Ingo Bank, OLED taillights being supplied to BMW, and acquisition of U.S. LED module manufacturer Novità Technologies.

Soaring demands for AlInGaN LEDs for virtual reality (VR) and security applications caused severe chip shortages for Epistar, reported Taiwanese media Commercial Times.

German lighting giant Osram announced two important developments in its automotive lighting business this month, such as supplying OLED taillights to BMW and its latest acquisition of U.S. automotive LED module manufacturer Novita Technologies. How will the acquisition affect the LED industry, though?

Chinese LED manufacturer Silan Microelectronics (Silan) announced Thursday the company’s preliminary financial results for first half of 2016 plunged more than 60% year-on-year to RMB 64.42 million (US $9.66 million), reported Sinai.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, U.S. finished installing more than 3,000 LED bulbs in the East Economy parking garage, reported KTAR News.

As part of the three-pillar strategy announced last November, Osram is further expanding the leading position of its Specialty Lighting (SP) business. The company has agreed to acquire Novità Technologies, a U.S. manufacturer of automotive LED modules which are used particularly in tail lights, fog lights and daytime running lights. The acquisition will immediately be margin-accretive in the Specialty Lighting segment.

Cree and Avnet, a leading global technology distributor, announced a strategic agreement that expands coverage in the Americas for the distribution of Cree's comprehensive portfolio of innovative LED components including high-power, Chip-on-Board, high brightness and LED modules. This agreement demonstrates Cree and Avnet’s shared commitment to provide customers with the industry’s best LED solutions and service to continue driving LED adoption.

HC Semitek, released a statement Wednesday night stating it acquired leading global Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor manufacturer MEMSIC.

Panasonic announced it will be raising its lighting revenue from JPY 320.3 billion (US $3.02 billion) from 2015 to JPY 400 billion by 2018, according to a report from Nikkei.

Affected by oversupply issues in the LED industry, leading Taiwanese LED EPI-wafer manufacturer Epistar (the company) lowered production costs by adjusting its production capacity and integrating subsidiaries FOREPI and Huga Optic resources, reported Taiwan media Apple Daily.

Six cities in Indian state Chhattisgarh in central India to replace conventional CFL streetlights and tube lights with LEDs soon, reported the largest English newspaper in the region The Hitadava.

IGNIS Innovation (IGNIS), a Canadian emissive display technology company, announced the execution of a Patent License agreement with LG Display, the Seoul-based world-leading display manufacturer. Under the agreement, IGNIS will provide LG Display under a non-exclusive license, access to its circuit technology to enhance the performance of OLED displays. As recognized by the display industry leaders, circuit technology is crucial for today’s AMOLED applications including TV, IT, high resolution smartphone, virtual reality, automotive and next generation printing.

Cambridge City Council in UK has started a major new project to install new low energy LED lighting at two of its multi-story car parks.

Once again, pioneering lighting technology from Osram is being fitted to a production vehicle. This time it is OLED technology (Organic Light Emitting Diode) in the tail lights of the new BMW M4 GTS. These organic area light sources take up very little space, opening up design options that car manufacturers have so far only dreamed about. “Our OLEDs in the tail lights of the BMW M4 GTS make us the first company to have this new technology on the road in a production vehicle. 

Many households in impoverished regions around the world are starting to shift away from inefficient and polluting fuel-based lighting—such as candles, firewood, and kerosene lanterns—to solar-LED systems. While this trend has tremendous environmental benefits, a new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that it spurs economic development as well, to the tune of 2 million potential new jobs.

In a July 14 meeting, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Board of Governors elected four new members to the board, including Annette Kay Clayton, Chief Executive Officer and President of North America Operations and chief supply chain officer for Schneider Electric, Schneider Electric North America; Lee Cooper, president and CEO of GE Healthcare U.S. and Canada; Jack Nehling, president of Phoenix Contact USA; and Rich Stinson, president and CEO of Southwire Company.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, announced that it has been selected by AllSaints, the global contemporary brand, to provide bespoke lighting systems across select stores across Europe, Americas and the Middle-East. The LED lighting is designed especially to enhance the AllSaints brand experience inside its industrial style stores.

Osram’s managing board is complete again. At an extraordinary meeting on Monday, the supervisory board of the lighting company appointed Ingo Bank as new CFO of OSRAM Licht AG. Ingo Bank, 48, joins Osram from Parexel, a U.S. biopharmaceutical service provider where he served as Chief Financial Officer. He will take up his post at Osram on September 1, 2016. "In Ingo Bank, we have found a financial expert with a proven track record and a strong international background. At the same time, he has extensive knowledge of technology markets, including the lighting industry," said Peter Bauer, chairman of the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG. Ingo Bank's term will run for three years.

Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar revenue in June 2016 was down 2.3% to NT $2.11 billion (US $65.87 million) compared to a month earlier, due to inventory take during the end of second quarter, according to a MoneyDJ report.

MLS announced recently that it will be injecting up to RMB 1.5 billion (US $ 223.97 million) in a Chinese LED company, and has commissioned Allbright Law Office and Ruihua Certified Public Accountants to assist in legal and financial issues.

Ritdisplay, a subsidiary of Ritek Group, is an OLED panel maker. This year the market's demand has been strong. In first half of 2016, its revenue reached NT $997 million (US $31.21 million), and its annual growth rate surpassed 40%, according to a MoneyDJ report.

pureLiFi, the global leader in LiFi technologies, has announced the completion of its Series B Financing Round led by Temasek. The funding will support the development and commercialization of its proprietary cutting-edge LiFi technology that uses modulated LED light to provide wireless communications, with the potential to be significantly faster than current WiFi technology. Harald Haas, the founder of pureLiFi and the “father of LiFi”, said “I am absolutely delighted that this significant step for pureLiFi has been achieved towards unlocking the grand LiFi vision”.

The University of South Wales (USW) and the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) have agreed a formal partnership, cementing a relationship which will see the development of a range of specialist lighting courses.

 Vauxhall is introducing Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL) and full LED headlamps to its new Zafira Tourer and Mokka X models.

Is the long-anticipated rebound in the panel industry finally coming? South Korean panel maker, LG Display (LGD) CEO Sang Boem Han expressed on Wednesday that the market already showed signs of improvement. He expected that LGD's revenues will improve by second half of 2016.

Cree has sold off its profitable GaN driver and RF business to Infineon for $850 million, so it can focus on its LED business, said the company. The Asian Development Bank announced it will be financing about US $50 million in Malaysian state Melaka smart LED streetlight project, which involves retrofitting 100,000 streetlights. LEDinside also had the chance to speak to Lawrence Lin, General Manager of MLS or Forest Lighting, about the company’s strategic distribution partnership with YACG in Taiwan, and its current LED package strategies.

The U.S. Department of Energy's CALiPER program has released a new Snapshot report on linear LED lamps, commonly known as TLEDs. 

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C136 published ANSI C136.49-2016 American National Standard for Roadway and Area Lighting Equipment—Plasma Lighting. This new standard defines the electrical and mechanical requirements of plasma type light sources for use in roadway and area lighting luminaires.

Noribachi, a leading U.S.-based custom LED manufacturer for high output commercial and industrial lighting solutions, today announced its continued growth in second quarter of 2016 due to the launch of its ALiVE product line, expansion of its regional sales organization and enhanced manufacturing capabilities.

Zylight, a leading manufacturer of innovative LED lighting solutions and North American distributor of Aladdin products, today announced more than 80 Aladdin Bi-Flex LED lighting instruments will be used for coverage of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later this month for two national cable news networks, including Bloomberg Television.