Wolfspeed, A Cree Company, announced today that Gruppo PBM, a leader in industrial battery chargers, is using Wolfspeed™ SiC MOSFETs in its new HF9 battery charger family to enable higher efficiency and power density at a lower overall system cost.

Southeast Asian country Bhutan is starting to implement nationwide LED lighting upgrades with financial assistance from Norway government, reported Asia News Network.

Located North of New Delhi, Indian state Haryana has recently made LED lamps a necessary requirement for amending the zoning plans of licensed colonies and change of land use (CLU) granted sites, according to a Business Standard report.

Lighting Science®, a global leader in next-generation LED lighting solutions, today announced that it received 35 new patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2015. These new patents – covering the fields of biologically adjusted and corrected lighting, light spectrum control, micro-electric optics, and advances in roadway infrastructure and other lighting fixtures – demonstrate that Lighting Science continues to set the global standard for light emitting diode (LED) and related innovation. “This new set of patents expands Lighting Science’s vast portfolio of issued patents to 366, with many focused on spectrum control and its effect on human health. Our research and development team, led by founder and Chief Technology Officer, Fred Maxik, set a high standard for innovation in 2015 of which we are extremely proud,” said Lighting Science CEO Ed Bednarcik.

Taiwan’s largest LED manufacturer Epistar has sold its Duxing factory in Hsinchu Science Park to IC design manufacturer Mediatek for NT$ 736 million (US $21.98 million), reported CNA.

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change announced in late January awardees of its second Electricity Demand Reduction (EDR) Pilot auction.

India’s second largest online retailer Snapdeal has formed a partnership with the country’s state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) to sell LED bulbs nationwide for INR 99 (US $1.46), according to an Economic Times report.

Two weeks ahead of Valentines, GE published a heartbreaking online letter ending its long term relationship with CFL, while announcing its new passion for LEDs.The creatively written marketing stunt was highlighting an important announcement that GE will discontinue the manufacturing of CFL bulbs in the U.S. market, and shift its focus in the consumer lighting towards LED bulbs by the end of 2016.

With global crude oil prices crashing, the Middle East energy subsidies have also been swept away, reported The National Business.

Several Canadian municipalities are planning to invest CA $13 million (US $9.29 million) to replace 42,000 streetlights this year, reportedMetroland News.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh in India plans to replace traditional streetlights comprising of sodium, fluorescent and CFLs with LEDs, reported Dhaka Tribune.

The LED industry was embroiled in its own storm of legal disputes, as blizzards engulfed certain parts of the Northern hemisphere this week. Nichia clinches a hard won victory against Everlight in the Eastern District of Texas this week, the court uphold its claim that Everlight had infringed its 250 patent. However, Everlight was able to bag a win in an earlier Michigan court ruling that has invalidated two of Nichia’s key YAG patents.

Osram Licht AG's Malaysian unit, Osram Opto Semiconductors (M) Sdn Bhd, is setting up a research and development (R&D) center here to serve the general lighting and illumination sector in Asia.

Royal Philips today announced the appointment of Jean Botti as Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer as part of the company’s strategy to capture a larger portion of the HealthTech opportunities. Jean Botti, who will join Philips as of April 1, 2016 from Airbus Group (AIR), will become a member of Philips’ Executive Committee and will report directly to Philips CEO Frans van Houten. Jean Botti will succeed Jim Andrew, who left Philips in the fourth quarter of 2015 for personal reasons.

The worst is thought to be over as 2015 comes to an end, a quick overview of developments in the past year show product prices have reached new historical lows in the past year. The elimination race has escalated with restructures becoming the new norm in the industry.

The California Energy Commission adopted first-in-the-nation energy standards for the next generation of light bulbs. The standards cover small-diameter directional lamps, often used in track lighting, and general purpose light-emitting diodes - commonly called LEDs - used to replace typical existing home lighting.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Everlight reported mixed results in several patent lawsuits rulings against Japanese manufacturer Nichia.

Nichia announced that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued a decision holding that Everlight Electronics and Everlight Americas (collectively, “Everlight”) have infringed three Nichia patents. The court upheld patent infringement claims that Nichia filed against Everlight in 2013.

The Texas Rangers announced that the club has entered into an agreement with Eaton's Ephesus Lighting to implement an advanced LED system for the field lights at Globe Life Park in Arlington beginning with the 2016 season.

Scarsdale Village, a town in New York, U.S. is considering to convert its 2,000 streetlights to warm colored LED ones, reportedScarsdale10583.com.

On Jan. 26, 2016, Harvatek announced it has entrusted Devlin Law Firm LLC to represent it in a patent infringement case against Cree that has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California . The patent in suit is US 6,841,934.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) made history again today when it set minimum energy efficiency standards for small diameter directional light bulbs used for accent, spot and track lighting that will be the most stringent in the world. The reflector bulbs, which are less than 2.25 inches in diameter, are most commonly found in retail stores, museums, and hotels, and increasingly in new and remodeled homes.

In a company statement, former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) and founder of PlayNitride, Yun-Li (Charles) Lee has refuted GPI’s allegations of selling the company’s key technologies to Chinese LED manufacturer San’an Opto, reported TechNews.

Taiwanese LED epiwafer manufacturer Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) has filed a lawsuit against its former Chief Technology Officer Yun-Li Lee for stealing and selling trade secrets to Chinese competitors, and applying acquired GPI technology in his startup company PlayNitride.

LEDinside surveyed 31 listed LED manufacturers announcements made in 2015 on the website Chinfo, the designated information disclosure website assigned by Notice of China Securities Regulatory Commission. We found 11 companies (including certain company subsidiaries) received subsidies totaling a striking RMB 1.18 billion (US $179 million).

Saignaw, a city located in Michigan, U.S. has started to replace 6,400 city streetlights with LEDs, which is estimated to cost the city $ 1.8 million, reported MLive.

Osram headlight lamps are continually being copied illegally by product pirates. To protect consumers from low-quality copies the lighting manufacturer has now developed its own trust program. Thanks to innovative two-step security checks, purchasers can easily verify whether the lamp they have bought is an Osram original that has been manufactured in accordance with international quality and safety standards.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) called on the California Energy Commission (CEC) again today to ensure that California consumers have access to the most efficient, cost-effective, and preferred LED bulbs currently on the market. A proposal under consideration at the CEC that could be voted on as early as January 27, 2016, if approved, will be the first instance in which the CEC pursues regulatory action that will reduce potential energy savings, increase the cost of energy-saving products for California consumers, and make it less likely that California consumers will want to buy these products.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, a leader in advanced LED lighting technology solutions, announced it will partner with leading national distributor of electrical supplies and services, Rexel Holdings USA for the sale of its LED lighting solutions. Revolution Lighting's LED product to be offered by Rexel Holdings USA and its divisions, Rexel, Rexel Enery Solutions, Gexpro, Platt and Capitol Light to its customers within the industrial, residential and commercial markets.

Currency-comparable order intake up 15%, driven by North America, China and Western Europe Adjusted EBITA1) improved 50 basis points to 11.9% of sales and amounted to EUR 842 million EBITA amounted to EUR 263 million, or 3.7% of sales• Net loss of EUR 39 million, impacted by one-time charges including previously announced pension de-risking, compared to net income of EUR 134 million in Q4 2014 Free cash flow of EUR 740 million, compared to EUR 559 million in Q4 2014 Philips Lighting separation process on track