Osram has entered talks with potential buyers of its lighting business, a couple of Chinese players Foshan Lighting, NVC, and Yankon Lighting have been named as companies that have shown interest. ABB is collaborating with Philips to bring smart lighting into homes in China. Several interesting research have emerged this week. Astronauts might be able to start their own vegetable gardens in space ships in the future, with specific wavelength LED grow lights from the University of Purdue. Another research team from Denmark are predicting nanowires could become the future technology for LEDs. Lastly, research on new optic designs and devices could enable future smartphones to be equipped with photosensors that determine whether a person has diabetes or pregnant. Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee outlined three major market trends at a shareholders meeting in Taipei, Taiwan this week. Lee projected the company’s orders would rebound in 3Q15, and that the number of newly added MOCVDs would reach 250 this year. He also shed light on Lumileds future market strategy following Go Scale Capital investment.

Following Chinese governments declining subsidies in 2015, industry insiders projected a slowdown in global LED production capacity growth rates, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. The industry, though, still faces oversupply situation as the total volume of MOCVDs will reach 2,000 this year, said Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee.

German lighting manufacturer Osram has started a round of talks with potential buyers of its lamp business, the lineup of candidates includes several large Chinese lighting companies, according to a Reuters report.

Chinese solar manufacturer EGING PV announced its subsidiary Changzhou EGING PV signed a strategic framework agreement with Qitai County government in Xinjiang Province, China.

The Thai government plans to take the lead in replacing about three million light bulbs in government agency offices within a six year time frame, reported the country’s National News Bureau.

Korean LED manufacturer Kumho Electric (Kumho) has recently signed a MOU with a Kazakhstani lighting company for an Almaty city streetlight project, reported Business Korea.

It’s finally possible to learn Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune or play pop hits such as See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth by following LED lights on The One Smart Piano.

In a company statement, Chinese LED manufacturer ETI announced two of its subsidiaries received in total RMB 70 million (US $11.28 million) subsidies from local governments.

Chinese driver manufacturer Moso recently reported a pessimistic revenue outlook, reported Securities Daily.

A lot has happened in the field of automotive lighting in recent years. Modern technologies such as LED, OLED and laser are very much on the advance. Richard Lothholz, Global Head of Sales Automotive Lamps and LED at OSRAM, answers questions about the development of automotive lighting technology.

Go Scale Capital’s ultimate motive for acquiring Lumileds is to list the LED chip company on the Chinese bourse, a Commercial Times report cited Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee saying at a recent company shareholder meeting.

LED market underperformed in 2Q15, due to waning backlight market during the quarter and cutthroat pricing competition in the lighting market, a CNA report cited Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee saying.

A Purdue University study shows that targeting plants with red and blue LEDs provides energy-efficient lighting in contained environments, a finding that could advance the development of crop-growth modules for space exploration.

The LED industry market competition has intensified leading to price plunges, and even some LED lighting manufacturers releasing low priced products that have been given the “cabbage price” nickname, reported Chinese LED website Grand Lighting (Dazhaoming). Prices of international LED manufacturers mid to high range LED products remain high, creating a huge price difference.

National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that Patrick Hope has joined the organization as the executive director of its Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA). He comes to MITA from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) where he served as the senior director of legislative policy.

Philips’ Hue will be seamlessly integrated with ABB’s i-Jia, a smart home control system, to give Chinese consumers an amazing connected lighting experience and further the adoption of smart homes in China.

Austrian lighting company Zumtobel restructures have helped the company turn around the EUR 4.8 million (US $ 5.32 million) losses it incurred in the last fiscal year, reported Austrian media Die Presse.

Samsung Electronics has recently signed a LED lighting component and module partnership service testing agreement with China Certification & Inspection Group’s (CCIC) Korean branch, reported Qianjia.com.

Semicon Light, a Korean company funded by Chinese LED manufacturer HC Semitek has been listed on the Korean bourse KOSDAQ on June 25, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants targeting advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) and building-integrated heat and moisture exchange technology:

Phoseon Technology, the leader in UV LED curing solutions, today announced a major milestone for UV LED light sources. As a result of Phoseon's rigorous reliability efforts, lifetime testing of lamps has now surpassed 50,000 hours of operational on-time with lamp irradiance being greater than 80% of its original output when the test first began five-plus years ago. For perspective, utilizing a single shift workweek of 2,000 hours per year, 50,000 hours equates to 25 years of UV LED operating on-time. 

Saffron aims to bring Silk, a smart LED bulb capable of color tuning to people’s circadian rhythm throughout the day onto the market by January 2016.

Osram was not only acting as an industry partner at the fifth tour of the largest electric vehicle rally in the world, the WAVE (World Advanced Vehicle Expedition), but also mingling amongst the competitors with a car fitted with OSRAM products. WAVE 2015 took place from 12 to 21 June, with a route over several locations from Plauen in Germany to St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Cree LED business will undergo restructures, which the company estimates will cost a total US $85 million. According to Roger Chu, Director, Research Division, LEDinside, the company has been hurt by LED bulb price wars. Startup 3D LED company Aledia has successfully completed its round B financing, and has been backed by IKEA GreenTech and automotive lighting company Valeo. Valeo has a 10% stake in Aledia, and appears to be interested in using 3D LED technology in its future automotive lighting products. Merck continues to show interest in OLED technology and has invested in another manufacturing plant in Germany. The company aims to become one of the leading OLED material companies by 2018.

The Guangdong Province in Southern China incurred the greatest losses in China’s lighting industry, according to monthly statistics compiled by National Bureau of Statistics.

Latest market rumors from Korea have noted South Korean display manufacturers are trying to persuade Apple to use flexible OLED screens in its future iPhones, reported Business Korea.

For the three Danish regions collectively known as Greater Copenhagen, the vision for reducing global warning and creating green growth is quite clear and very ambitious.

A court in The Hague has made an unprecedented ruling and ordered the Dutch government to cut carbon emissions by at least 25% within five years, reported The Guardian.

Eaton Cooper announced recently it has dropped the Cooper name for its lighting business, details of the transition can be seen in the statement below from Mark Eubank, Preident of Eaton’s Lighting Division.

Market competition in the North American bulb market has pressured Cree to restructure its LED business, said Roger Chu, Director, Research Division, LEDinside.