Less than one year after the successful launch of the TW (TrueWhite®) Series Cree® LED Bulb in California, Cree, Inc. is expanding the bulb’s availability across The Home Depot® stores nationwide. Delivering an unprecedented Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 93, the TW Series Cree LED Bulb displays colors true and natural, ideal for use in kitchens, bathrooms and closets, where color quality matters most. The 40-watt replacement TW Series Cree LED Bulb retails for $13.97 and the Cree 60-watt replacement bulb retails for $15.97.

The low-profile rectangular shape of the new Synios E4014 from Osram Opto Semiconductors enables the light from this LED to be injected into light guides so that a wide range of design ideas can turned into reality. These mid-power light emitting diodes also have an impressively robust plastic package, a particularly uniform distribution of light and an excellent price performance ratio. The LEDs are intended primarily for visually enhancing "white goods" and for lighting systems in vehicles and displays.

Hubbell Lighting announced Architectural Area Lighting’s (AAL) popular Pivot linear flood light is now available in LED. Coupling the fixture’s simple yet striking aesthetics with long lasting LEDs, the Pivot is an exceptionally flexible lighting solution for both indoor and outdoor applications.

Xeleum Lighting announced the introduction of its new Artemis Series Ceiling Mounted LED Stairwell Light Fixture. Specifically designed for use in stairwells that may be unoccupied for long periods of time, this light fixture is capable of reducing energy usage by up to 80% over conventional stairwell fixtures that do not employ LEDs or occupancy sensors. 

LED industry demand is booming, causing downstream epitaxial manufacturers to upstream package manufacturers to face the possibility of an undersupply situation. LED demands started strengthening from 4Q13 to 2Q14, said Zhang Shixian, Deputy General Manager of Epistar. Zhang estimates that demands will continue increasing in 3Q14. Epistar’s production capacity has already reached 90 percent. The company is now concerned that supply will not meet demand after 3Q14. 

The influx of affordable, but good quality LED bulbs from Chinese manufacturers into the Korean market is causing concern among small and medium size companies (SMEs), according to a recent report by Korean media. 

Veeco Instruments Inc. announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014. Veeco reports its results on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis, and also provides results excluding certain items. 

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is preparing to sign a nine year contract with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. (EESL) after the conclusion of the general elections currently ongoing in India. The contract will be for a joint-venture to replace a total of 300,000 street lamps with LEDs, according to The Economic Times. 

GT Advanced Technologies (GT) announced that it will be making its next generation ASF165 sapphire growth furnace, for the production of high volume and high quality sapphire material, commercially available in 3Q14.

Cree introduced a series of LED T8 replacement tubes yesterday in their bid push the lighting market towards 100 percent adoption of LEDs. The LED T8 series is designed to replace linear fluorescent tubes. 

MaxLite®, a global manufacturing of energy-efficient lamps and lighting fixtures, has announced the appointment of Donille Perrone to Director of Marketing. Perrone reports directly to Thomas Rhee, Executive Vice President of MaxLite. Perrone brings over 15 years of marketing experience with a strong lighting background.

Conceptor, a product design team based in Kiev, Ukraine has come up with Lunecase, an elegant and smart LED iPhone case that is super energy efficient.

Future Lighting Solutions is pleased to announce the completion of a successful project with Studio DL and Leipziger Leuchten, in developing unique new LED lighting that provides energy-efficient ambiance to the grassy beach area along the Baltic Sea in Niendorf, with customized modules enabling adjustable brightness.

The Finally Light Bulb Company, www.finallybulbs.com, today introduced the first energy-efficient A type light bulb that replicates the familiar warm and reassuring glow of the now-banned incandescent bulbs that consumers love and miss. The Finally™ light bulb uniquely incorporates the same classic design of an incandescent bulb, provides the energy-efficiency consumers demand and produces light quality that LED and CFL bulbs cannot deliver at an affordable price.    

VOLT® Lighting (www.voltlighting.com), a manufacturer of high-performance lighting products, announced the release of the their FOREVER BULB™, a new line of energy-saving LED light bulbs that challenge the booming LED retrofit market.

Apple’s recent interest in sapphire substrate has got the industry talking as to what future Apple product will use the material. Long since used in LED lighting applications and handheld devices, sapphire substrate will soon be the spotlight in the industry once Apple’s Arizona factory is up and running. 

GT Advanced Technologies’ (GT) Arizona sapphire substrate facility reportedly began small scale sapphire production last month. Stephen Chin, analyst of UBS, revealed that the facility has also already begun shipping material to a Chinese supplier. 

Taiwan citizens could soon see a jump in electricity costs as the country faces energy shortages. Anti-nuclear sentiment is gaining momentum in the country as construction for Taiwan’s controversial fourth nuclear power plants nears completion. 

Philips Canlyte announced it will close its doors after 27 years, leaving around 190 workers without jobs. 

Apple has acquired LuxVue Technology, a startup company that focuses on making low power micro-LED based displays in the consumer market, according to a TechCrunch report.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published the 2014 edition of the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) R&D Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP). This year's edition provides a description of the activities DOE plans to undertake over the next several years to implement its SSL mission, and informs the development of annual SSL R&D funding opportunities.

The National Lighting Bureau’s has announced its 35th annual High-Benefit Lighting Awards Program. The unique program is open to owners, architects, engineers, interior designers, facility and property managers, contractors, manufacturer’s representatives, utility employees, users, and virtually anyone else associated with a new or upgraded illumination system that provides at least some of the many benefits of what the Bureau calls High-Benefit Lighting(r).

Rubicon Technology, Inc., a provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, semiconductor, and optical industries, today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2014.

Since being first introduced in the 1950’s, hula hoops have remained popular among both children and adults. Berlin even has a festival dedicated to the hula hoop. Started in 2005, this June will mark Hoopla! Berlin’s third annual festival.

Cleveland’s historic Playhouse Square will turn on the world’s largest permanent outdoor chandelier on Friday at 9:30 pm ET. The 20-foot tall stainless steel light piece will shimmer with 4,200 crystal pendants and LEDs fixtures drawing just 1,700 watts (the equivalent of 17 standard 100-watt light bulbs.)

Visitors will be able to view their market-leading products, including the 11W LED DIMMABLE OMNI DIRECTIONAL A19 light bulb. The company is using their presence at the National Hardware Show to showcase their eco-friendly, energy efficient products. GreenliteTM representatives will be available May 6th through May 8th to demonstrate and discuss their Energy Star® LED bulbs. 

Nuclear energy has been a hot topic in Taiwan this week, as construction plans to the country’s fourth nuclear power plant have come to a temporary halt. LED industry heavy weights including Epistar and Delta Electronics have been weighing in, urging the government that LEDs are a better alternative energy solution. 

The Korean won is anticipated to rise against the U.S. dollar in the coming months, the strongest in six years. The Taiwan new dollar, on the other hand, is expected to depreciate against the Korean currency. 

The realization of OLED technology is contingent upon the development of appropriate materials, processing strategies and device structures which are scalable in terms of their cost, capacity, and capability. During the past decade significant progress has been achieved in the synthesis and characterization of OLED materials. 

AIXTRON SE announced revenues of EUR 43.9m for the first quarter of 2014, representing a year-on-year improvement of 9%. Capacity utilization rates at leading LED manufacturers remain at relatively high levels and demand for LEDs continues to be on the rise. Despite this, there was still no noticeable increase in investments in LED manufacturing capacity expansions in Q1/2014.