Lighting manufacturers are being urged to pay greater attention to lighting control detectors, in order to pass on improved energy savings to customers.

TAIYO YUDEN has announced the expansion of its line-up for its chip bead inductor FB series M type and the commercialization of FBMH4532MM182PT (4.5 x 3.2 x 3.2 mm).

According to the latest ‘ 2017 Global Sapphire and LED Chip Market Report by LEDinside, a division of the global market research firm TrendForce, LED chip market value was USD 6,329 million in 2015, while it grew by 3% to USD 6,502 million in 2016. Since the second half of 2016, Chinese LED packaging manufacturers have scaled up rapidly, targeting applications expected to prevail in the market for the next three years, including general lighting, automotive lighting, and display application. That further fosters Tier 1 Chinese LED chip manufacturers to volume up their productivity.

A new Chinese LED company Suijing Optoelectronics listed on China’s Over The Counter Bulletin Board (OTCCB) has become the latest company to sign a red KSF phosphor license agreement with GE Lighting.

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) intends to acquire Panasonic and Sony’s OLED joint venture JOLED to better compete with Korean rivals and emerging Chinese players, reported Nikkei Asian Review.

The Jaipur Metro Rail in India will be replacing all sodium lights at the Vivek Vihar station with LED lights to cut energy consumption, reported The Times of India.

ANU scientists have designed a nano crystal around 500 times smaller than a human hair that turns darkness into visible light and can be used to create light-weight night-vision glasses.

Mayor Emanuel has announced that the City is conducting a public demonstration of next-generation streetlights in seven neighborhoods as part of the Chicago Smart Lighting Project, which will upgrade streetlights across the city. Residents are being asked to provide feedback on the new lighting, which represents the latest advances in lighting technology, through the end of the year.

Grand Sports Arena, the training facility for the Chicago Mustangs pro soccer team, are making the switch to Serenity LED energy efficient lights which qualifies them for a ComEd rebate.

The trucks in Stacey Nelson’s fleet rarely get the luxury of driving on clean roads under sunny skies. Black Hills Energy crews are tasked with keeping natural gas and electrical services running for 1.2 million customers across eight states. Their efforts are critical to keeping people warm in their homes in the most extreme weather conditions, and their requirements for a vehicle equipped to handle the rigors of 24/7 work are unique.

Founded three years ago, Idaho-based Rohinni is eyeing different segments in the micro-LED application sector with a LED die based manufacturing process: the first industries they have targeted will be keyboard backlight, logo and the automotive lighting sector.

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).

The value of the global LED market is estimated to grow 3.4% annually to US$14.8 billion in 2016, according to LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. The LED industry will again be under tremendous competitive pressure in 2017, and participants will need to accelerate their entries into more profitable niche markets such as fine-pitch LED displays, UV LEDs and IR LEDs. LEDinside forecasts that the value of the global LED market will total US$15.4 billion, up 4% from 2016.

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. 

Japanese consumer electronic giant Sony will be launching two new OLED TVs by 2017, reported Forbes.

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.

Piccadilly Lights, one of the UK’s most iconic landmarks and a globally-recognized advertising space, is to undergo a redevelopment that will give new brands a rare chance to secure a sought-after spot.

The finale of Aixtron’s sale to Grand Chip Investment ended with the Chinese investor dropping the deal after U.S. President Barack Obama prohibited the German equipment maker from transferring key U.S. patents and assets to the acquisitor, due to national security concerns. In brief, Aixtron’s equipment can be used to make GaN wafers that are used in U.S. military applications including Patriot missiles. The German equipment maker is currently considering to sell parts of its business off instead, after the deal with the Chinese investor failed.

The LED industry was volatile throughout 2016, but started to rebound during first half of the year following soaring upstream chip prices. Despite positive growth in the industry, companies were still shutting down or exiting the market, while more were paying attention to industry developments. Under current market situations, leading manufacturers’ development strategy also come under the lime light.

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).

Idemitsu Kosan (headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & Chief Executive Officer: Takashi Tsukioka; hereinafter, “Idemitsu” or the “Company”) announces its decision to expand production capacity of the OLED materials at its 100% subsidiary Idemitsu Electronic Materials Korea Co., Ltd. (location: Paju, Gyeon-do, South Korea; president: Kazuki Maeda) to respond to the expected increase in demand for OLED materials due to increased penetration of OLED displays as well as to install additional evaluation equipment in order to strengthen technological customer support capabilities.

China’s capital Beijing has installed 28 streetlights enhanced with advanced graphene material technology in Tongzhou District, which can slash energy consumption by 20% to 30% compared to current lamps on the market, reported China Daily.

For a mid-afternoon snack, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough cut some of the "Outredgeous" Red Romaine lettuce leaves he nurtured during the past month aboard the International Space Station as part of a gardening harvest technique termed “cut-and-come-again.”

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.

Nanoco Group, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, announces that it has acquired a group of patents from the Eastman Kodak Company ("Kodak") in connection with the use of quantum dots in electroluminescent displays, a future display technology.

Leviton announced the acquisition of ConTech Lighting, a leading, Chicago-based manufacturer of high-performance and sustainable lighting solutions and fixtures. Through this acquisition, Leviton continues its strategic growth in lighting and expands its product offerings and solutions with ConTech Lighting’s high-quality, innovative designs.