More than 23,000 sodium streetlights will be replaced with LEDs in a large streetlight project rolled out in Sunderland city in UK. 

With ballot results confirmed in three U.S. states for the recreational use of marijuana, and three for medical use, the increased demand on energy consumption in pro-cannabis territories is expected to skyrocket, continuing the trend towards LED “grow light” solutions that curb energy consumption and reduce energy costs to growers. Lighting Science’s® patented VividGro™ LED lamp is proven to increase yields by up to 30% while using 45% less energy. Today, the company announced that sales of their VividGro LED indoor grow lights increased by more than 100 percent over the past year alone. The cannabis industry is anticipated to jump from $6 billion to $50 billion by 2026.

MechaTronix, part of the Eight Lakes Group and headquartered in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, announced its next major milestone with the acquisition of Cooling House. Cooling House, based in New Taipei City, Taiwan, is a technology leader in advanced two-phase cooling. Their high power cooling solutions are based on advanced heat pipes and thermosyphons. As experts in remote heat transfer, they can offer innovative thermal solutions that save energy on an application level and that enable system builders to use higher performance electronics components.

Quantel Laser announced the appointment of Dr. Steve Patterson as CEO of their Quantel U.S. subsidiary. A nine-year US Army veteran with service in the 1st Ranger Bn., Steve comes to Quantel after successfully leading DILAS Diode Laser’s US office through rapid growth and market expansion. Prior to DILAS, Dr. Patterson held technical and management positions at nLight Photonics and Sharp and has been involved in several technology start-ups. Dr. Patterson holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has authored numerous technical papers and has two patents to his name.

A day before the U.S. presidential elections 2016, Californian voters passed a Proposition 64, which legalizes adult marijuana usage for recreational purposes.

LED manufacturer Lextar third quarter financial results for 2016 recently showed positive developments.

Samsung Display plans to raise small to mid-sized OLED panels production by 35% in 2017 to meet surging OLED panel demands from Chinese smartphone manufacturers, Korean media Pulse cited a Samsung Display official saying.

Revenue rises about 6% on a comparable basis in 2016. Adjusted EBITA margin increases to 12.5%.  Proposed dividend of EUR 1.00 (US $1.13) per share. Osram managing board expects growth pace to continue in 2017.

Today, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C78 revised ANSI C78.1195 American National Standard for Electric Lamps—Double-Capped Fluorescent Lamps—Safety Specifications. Adopted by ANSI ASC C78 as a nationally acknowledged international standard, this revision of IEC 61195, ed2.2 (2014-09) includes deviations for clauses 2 and 3.

Debuting its OLED signage product portfolio for commercial applications on Tuesday, large Korean consumer electronic manufacturer LG is moving away from big-screened OLED TVs for home entertainment in Taiwan.

On Oct.14, 2016, EU RAPEX (Rapid Exchange of Information System) recalled two LED luminaries from the consumer market. One was a color changing LED Bulb, the other one was a high power LED lamp. Both products were recalled because they pose potential electric shock to users due to inadequate circuit insulation or loosely attached parts. Last Friday, on the newly released RAPEX report, four other LED luminaries were listed: linear fixture by Best-LED, LED Magic Ball Light and LED Sun Magic Ball by ASA, and LED Floodlight by GREENLUX.

The Lighting Industry Association (LIA), Europe’s largest trade body for the lighting industry, is launching its own range of insurance services for its 280 members.

China’s optoelectronic power house is situated in its southern province Xiamen, which is known for its strong LED lighting industry, reported Xiamen Daily.

Did a boycott of Chinese products on India social media websites cause the sharp decline of LED bulb imports? A movement launched on Indian social media platforms during the annual lighting festival Diwali on Oct. 31, 2016 resulted in a 30% to 50% revenue decline of energy efficient lights and LED bulbs in Mumbai.

Once considered the top business to sale off, Samsung Electronics LED business has made an impressive turnaround recently, reported Business Korea.

The next flagship smartphone Samsung launches will feature a larger bezel-less OLED display screen than most phones on the market, which according to Forbes analyses would enable a more immersive VR gaming experience.

Osram launched many automotive lighting products this week, including automotive LEDs and OLED taillights. The company has also announced two major partnerships including licensing its LED epiwafer patents to a major Japanese company, and sealing a smart LED lighting deal with Tvilight.

Osram is expanding its expertise in smart outdoor lighting systems for cities by acquiring a minority stake in the Dutch software specialist Tvilight. The lighting maker will hold 47.5% of the company, which offers sensor technology and smart light management software for smart city solutions, among other things. Tvilight offers a platform for cities and other public space stakeholders to realize smart city visions and will continue to provide an open platform for suppliers of smart city solutions. 

Recent tech media reports highlighted Philips Hue bulbs vulnerabilities that could be exposed by hackers, which could override lighting controls using computer viruses.

Envirobrite is proud to announce its partnership with Soraa as a master distributor of Soraa products.

Silvair, a pioneer in Bluetooth-based smart lighting technologies for commercial applications, today announced that it has completed a US $12 million Series A round of funding. The new investment will enable the company to commercialize its end-to-end smart lighting platform, as well as to grow its marketing and customer support capabilities internationally.

Orion Energy Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance, energy-efficient lighting platforms, announced financial results for its fiscal 2017 second quarter ended Sept. 30, 2016.

Heliospectra, a world leader in intelligent lighting technology (https://www.heliospectra.com/) for controlled environments horticulture, forecasts that America’s growing public support of legalized medicinal and recreational cannabis use will push industry to more sustainable cultivation practices and cost-effective LED light strategies.

Thermal management specialist Cambridge Nanotherm today announces it has built significant additional capability and capacity into its MCPCB manufacturing base to meet rising demand for its award-winning thermal management solutions. The company has established partnerships with a wide network of PCB and thin-film manufacturers to offer a broad range of options in terms of circuitization, quality, volume and standards.

Veeco Instruments announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, 2016. Results are reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and are also reported adjusting for certain items ("Non-GAAP"). A reconciliation between GAAP and Non-GAAP operating results is provided at the end of this press release.

There has been stable growth in the global LED lighting market supply chain and distribution channels, the plateaued LED backlight market has ushered surging innovative LED applications in the market. How has soaring demands in new LED applications affected Taiwanese LED manufacturer’s Epistar’s LED shipments?

GE Lighting Solutions and Samsung Electronics announced the signing of a worldwide patent license agreement. 

In 2016, Epistar lead the Taiwan LED industry business model transition from unprofitable product portfolio to refocusing on more profitable client orders. Other LED companies have caught onto this trend, such as Unity Opto, which slashed LED bulb production capacity by 70%, reported China Times.

Samsung is supplying more than just OLED screens for iPhones to Apple, reported Korea ETNews.

With effect from  1 November 2016, Guido van Tartwijk has become the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tridonic, a company belonging to the Zumtobel Group. He succeeds Alfred Felder, who has been appointed to the Group’s Management Board back in April this year.