Recently, Atlanta-based Acuity Brands, a lighting and cleaning products company, said that it's entered into a strategic partnership with Herndon, Va.'s Renaissance Lighting to work on the commercialization of LED lighting.

Under the deal, Renaissance is licensing its intellectual property, including its Constructive Occlusion optical system, to Acuity. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

According to Vernon Nagel, chairman, president and CEO of Acuity Brands, partnering with Renaissance Lighting gives Acuity Brands Lighting the ability to continue to build our rapidly-growing LED portfolio and develop innovative new products through the use of advanced, patented technology.

Acuity indicated that the companies have agreed to collaborate on research and development and other projects supporting the improvement and advancement of LED technologies for consumer, architectural, commercial, institutional and general illumination applications.

Renaissance, a privately-held developer of solid-state LED architectural lighting, is backed by the Altira Group, Crowley Technologies, NGEN Partners, RockPort Capital Partners, and Sumitomo. Renaissance CEO Barry Weinbaum said that as one of the largest and most-respected lighting companies in the world, Acuity Brands Lighting has the resources to help them accelerate the delivery to market of breakthrough LED technology.

In April, Renaissance signed a strategic marketing deal with Great Falls, Va.-based Stellatek Solutions and Network Communication E.T. in the United Arab Emirates to bring its LEDs to projects in the UAE and Qatar.

At the time, Renaissance said the level of commercial development underway in the UAE and Qatar was at an historic level, with over 22,000 hotel rooms set to open in Dubai this year alone.