Illumitex, maker of technologically advanced LED grow lights, today announced an initiative to help innovative indoor growers to secure a portion of a $50M grant fund available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Highly efficient, LEDs could slash the world’s electricity consumption. They are already sold in stores, but more widespread adoption of the technology has been hindered by high costs due to limited availability of raw materials and difficulties in achieving acceptable light quality. But researchers will report today that they have overcome these obstacles and have developed a less expensive, more sustainable white LED.

A blue glowing device the size of a peppercorn can activate neurons of the brain, spinal cord or limbs in mice and is powered wirelessly using the mouse's own body to transfer energy. Developed by a Stanford Bio-X team, the device is the first to deliver optogenetic nerve stimulation in a fully implantable format.

Lighting Science Group, a leading global manufacturer of innovative LED lighting solutions, announced today the appointment of Jeff Campbell as Senior Director of Product Management. Mr. Campbell will be responsible for contributing to Lighting Science’s overall product management strategy and expanding its commercial and retail LED offerings. Reporting directly to Lighting Science CEO Ed Bednarcik, Jeff will also work closely with the company’s marketing and sales teams to effectively promote Lighting Science’s current product offerings, such as the Rhythm™ and Marquee™ Series, and the company’s new T8 Linear line, in the ever-expanding LED market.

Orion Energy Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance, energy-efficient retrofit lighting platforms, today announced Curtis Stout will represent all Orion lighting products in the mid-south region of the US as of August 19, 2015.

As part of the Graphene Applications Innovation Centre, CPI is bringing together specialist dispersion characterization, and applications testing capability alongside a team of leading scientists with a vast array of experience in industry, research and development and technology innovation.

Advances at Oregon State University in manufacturing technology for “quantum dots” may soon lead to a new generation of LED lighting that produces a more user-friendly white light, while using less toxic materials and low-cost manufacturing processes that take advantage of simple microwave heating.

San’an Opto released its financial results for the first half of 2015 on August 18, 2015. The company’s sales reached RMB 2.3 billion (US$350 million) with 5.26% growth year on year (YoY). The reported net income available to shareholders is RMB 904 million, reflecting a 35.76% YoY growth.

Chinese courts have invalidated Cree’s patent “Apparatus and method for mounting electronic elements” (CN 200780015100.X) in its patent infringement lawsuit against Harvatek, said Harvatek Spokesperson Chi Hsiung Cheng. The company’s future product sales will benefit from the ruling, he added.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science published the Fiscal Year 2016 Phase I, Release 1 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on August 17, 2015, for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. Under DE-FOA-0001366, whose complete listing of technical topics was released on July 20, DOE seeks applicants for grants directed toward FY16 Phase I projects. Topics for this funding opportunity can be found at //science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities and include LED and OLED lighting (see topic 7).

Illumitex and The Pennsylvania State University are pleased to announce an educational partnership that has resulted in more than 400 Illumitex Eclipse ES2 LED grow lights being put into service in multiple greenhouses operated by the storied university's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Reuters recently broke Go Scale Capital’s US $1.93 billion loan to acquire Lumileds and former Philips automotive lighting business. The loan will mostly be used to merge with the $2.8 billion financing to acquire 80% of Lumileds shares.

Hong Kong Consumer Council and Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSC) found large disparities in energy efficiency and lifetime performances in 10 types of LED bulbs, among these included products from leading lighting brands. Differences in LED bulb efficacy reached 100%, while one sample burned out and lumen depreciation in certain products occurred at 10% mark of the product’s lifetime. A couple other products failed to pass safety tests. Consumers were advised by the council to choose LED products cautiously.

LG Display announced Monday it will be channeling future resources to the development of OLED TVs to stay ahead of Chinese competitors that are catching up rapidly in the LCD sector, reported Associated Press.

The county council has announced that Skanska has been awarded the contract to provide Gloucestershire's LED lighting scheme.

Qualcomm announced that its indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Global Trading, has completed its acquisition of CSR, a leading fabless provider of end-to-end semiconductor and software solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE) and automotive segments. The acquisition, which was completed at an enterprise value of approximately $2.2 billion ($2.4 billion equity value)*, complements Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.’s (Qualcomm Technologies) current offerings by adding a compelling portfolio of new products, sales channels and a large number of customers in the areas of IoE and automotive – both key growth priorities for Qualcomm Technologies.

“It is only a matter of time before white LEDs using blue LED chips will disappear from the market,” said Shuji Nakamura at a forum on GaN technology in July organized by Nikkei Asian Review. The comment from the inventor of the blue LED chip and Nobel Laureate shocked the industry. Nakamura shares a Nobel Prize in Physics with two Japanese inventors Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano for their invention of the blue LED. Yet, Nakamura’s recent remark completely derails his previous accomplishments. Industry insiders in China try to decode Nakamura’s comments to determine whether it reflects embedded flaws in blue LEDs design, or whether his motive is to promote Soraa’s purple LEDs.

More wearable projects have surfaced on the net as tech-savvy girls try to add LEDs to their wardrobes. Apparently, the cute, innocent Hikaru Skirt is not for everyone, some have started to redesign the tutu skirt. Moreover, many wearables are not designed for daily use, but for special shows or Cosplay conventions. A female designer known as SexyCyborg on Reddit set out to customize her own "adult version of Hikaru Skirt," and later matched the skirt with a pair of sparkling LEDs platform high heels.

Professor Kyung-Cheol Choi and his research team from the School of Electrical Engineering at KAIST have developed fiber-like LEDs, which can be applied in wearable displays. The research findings were published online in the July 14th issue of Advanced Electronic Materials.

Previous rumors surrounding Apple’s sapphire usage were focused on whether iPhones would be equipped with sapphire screens in the future, but new reports claim the company has received a new sapphire antenna patent.

Scotland could save millions of pounds per year by upgrading to LED streetlights, according to statistics compiled by Scottish Future Trust.

The report "Smart Lighting Market by Connectivity Technologies (Wired & Wireless), End Users, by Lighting Types (Fluorescent Lighting, LED Lamps, & Others), by Components (Control & Communication, Luminaries & Fixtures), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2020", published by MarketsandMarkets, the total Smart Lighting Market is expected to reach USD 8.14 Billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 22.07% between 2015 and 2020.

Leyard Optoelectronic, a leading worldwide provider of LED display products and ancillary systems, and Planar Systems, a global leader in display and digital signage technology, announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which a U.S. affiliate of Leyard will acquire all of the common stock of Planar for a purchase price of US $6.58 per share. The merger values Planar’s equity at approximately $156.8 million on a fully diluted basis. The transaction is subject to specified closing conditions, including approval by the shareholders of both Planar and Leyard, and antitrust and other government clearance.

NASA astronauts take a bite out of space grown veggies sprouted from LED grow lights. IKEA to swap all lighting products with LEDs starting from September 2015. Security experts find a way to hack into ZigBee wireless connected products, even smart LED lights can be compromised. Cree reports losses in 2Q15, due to company restructure efforts.

According to the data compiled by NPD, U.S. watch sales fell to a seven-year low in June 2015. Retailers sold $375 million timepieces during June, 11% less than one year ago. It is the worst decline since 2008, unit sales dropped 14 %. Release of the Apple Watch has impacted the timepiece industry and resulted in the recent decline.

Global LED chip demand and supply condition is gradually reaching an equilibrium, and easing the industry’s oversupply situation, according to a Qianjia.com report that quoted an electronic component industry report by UBS. Lighting is becoming one of the major application sectors in the LED industry, and China’s LED supply chain is expected to benefit from these changes. LED chip manufacturers are expected to benefit the most in the future.

According to the HCM City Energy Conservation Center, only 1,200 LED lights are used out of the total 102,500 bulbs for public lighting. Most of the other lights are high-pressure mercury (HPM) or high pressure sodium (HPS) lights, reported Viet Nam News.

A Kent State University professor in the College of Arts and Sciences has received a grant from the Binational Science Foundation to continue his development of a combined LED and organic transistor that could be used in flexible displays. Bjorn Lussem, Ph.D., an assistant professor of physics, was awarded US $180,000 to use vertical transistors to create organic displays that are more power efficient and could potentially have a higher resolution.

TOGGLED®, developer and producer of next-generation solid-state lighting technology and named in the Top 25 Most Innovative Companies in South East Michigan by Crain's Detroit, reported today the addition of CLEANLIFE® Energy to its rapidly growing roster of LED lighting product licensees.

China’s LED industry has been hit with another wave of resigning managers in August, according to a LEDinside report. In the aftermath of the industry’s major manager turnover during March and April this year, more than nine senior managers have left in the last two months (from June 1 to August 5). Chairmen, vice CEOs, deputy general managers, interim member of the board of supervisors and others have stepped down, due to personal reasons. Below is a list of senior managers that have walked out.