Heliospectra, a world leader in intelligent lighting technology for controlled environments horticulture, is pleased to announce that Green Leaf, a recently licensed cannabis cultivation facility in Alaska, selected the Heliospectra LED lighting system. Green Leaf owner-operator Aaron Bean chose the Heliospectra LED-based solution after determining that it is the only product in the marketplace with the power and versatility to support every stage of the cannabis growth cycle.

Viribright Lighting announced that is has received a US Patent (US 9,379,300) for the design of an LED chip welded in a flip-chip manner on a floating copper heat radiation support. The Viribright LED packaging design generates more lumens per watt with better control of heat dissipation than previous LED manufacturing methods.

Chinese consortium consisting of the strategic investor IDG, the Chinese lighting company MLS and the financial investor Yiwu acquire Osram’s business unit Lamps for more than €400 million

The first half of 2016 has flown by quickly, with the LED industry entering a mature phase and stabilizing growth rates, it is gradually losing its liveliness. Looking back to the first half of 2016, new terms emerged among the tide of acquisitions and price wars. The keywords can be summarized as five large niche lighting markets, four key markets, three competitive technologies, changes in two major products market positions, and one new technology term.

India’s Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) issued a warning to consumers to be cautious about websites claiming to sell 9W LED bulbs for less than INR 1 (US $0.02), reported The Times of India.

Nanoco Group, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, and Wah Hong Industrial Corporation (TPEx: 8240, "Wah Hong"), a leading Taiwanese manufacturer and supplier of optical films, jointly announce that they have signed a supply and licence agreement in the display sector.

Philips Lighting announced the appointment of Stéphane Rougeot as Chief Financial Officer, effective September 1, 2016. Rougeot succeeds Rene van Schooten Business Group Leader Lamps, who in addition to his current role held the position on an interim basis for nine months.

Today’s high-speed wired communication networks use lasers to carry information through optical fibers, but wireless networks are currently based on radiofrequencies or microwaves. In an advance that could one day make light-based wireless communications ubiquitous, researchers from Facebook Connectivity Lab have demonstrated a conceptually new approach for detecting optical communication signals traveling through the air.

Power management company Eaton announced a collaboration with NuLEDs™ a leader in Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) lighting systems, aimed at making buildings smarter and seamlessly securely connected. The two companies will go to market with a joint product offering including Eaton’s complete portfolio of PoE-enabled LED luminaires and NuLEDs’ drivers, software, sensors and keypads.

Philips reports Q2 sales of EUR 5.9 billion (US $6.49 billion) and comparable sales growth of 3%, a 9% improvement in Adjusted EBITA to EUR 544 million and net income of EUR 431 million

China’s LED industry produced 296.3 billion LEDs during first half of 2016, up 19.21% Year-on-Year, reported China Light Industry Internet (CLII).

Chinese LED manufacturer Honglitronic Optoelectronics announced it had rebranded itself as Honglizhihui Group, and is in the process of acquiring  connected car technology assets.

After three long years, Opple Lighting’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) application was finally approved by China’s Securities Regulatory Committee (CSRC), and is closer to its goal of being listed on the Chinese bourse.

Lexington Luminance plaintiff filed against Google for using patent infringed LEDs in two Google Nexus phones has taken a new turn recently, reported The National Law Review.

Going net-zero carbon is the smart, inevitable choice for the companies of today and of the future – where “the business model fits as a solution glove to all the things that we need to address in the climate change challenge,” says Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & Government Affairs, Philips Lighting, in a Climate TV interview during the Business & Climate Summit convened in London last month by The Climate Group.

Royal Philips announced the results of the first published study to demonstrate that absolute oxygen saturation of arterial blood (SpO2), a vital sign that is commonly monitored in hospitalized and other patients, can be accurately measured across multiple patients using contactless technology. 

Osram and Epistar have been especially active this week. The German lighting giant has announced many new developments one week ahead of its latest financial result announcement. Changes in the company structure include the appointment of their new CFO Ingo Bank, OLED taillights being supplied to BMW, and acquisition of U.S. LED module manufacturer Novità Technologies.

Soaring demands for AlInGaN LEDs for virtual reality (VR) and security applications caused severe chip shortages for Epistar, reported Taiwanese media Commercial Times.

German lighting giant Osram announced two important developments in its automotive lighting business this month, such as supplying OLED taillights to BMW and its latest acquisition of U.S. automotive LED module manufacturer Novita Technologies. How will the acquisition affect the LED industry, though?

Chinese LED manufacturer Silan Microelectronics (Silan) announced Thursday the company’s preliminary financial results for first half of 2016 plunged more than 60% year-on-year to RMB 64.42 million (US $9.66 million), reported Sinai.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, U.S. finished installing more than 3,000 LED bulbs in the East Economy parking garage, reported KTAR News.

As part of the three-pillar strategy announced last November, Osram is further expanding the leading position of its Specialty Lighting (SP) business. The company has agreed to acquire Novità Technologies, a U.S. manufacturer of automotive LED modules which are used particularly in tail lights, fog lights and daytime running lights. The acquisition will immediately be margin-accretive in the Specialty Lighting segment.

Cree and Avnet, a leading global technology distributor, announced a strategic agreement that expands coverage in the Americas for the distribution of Cree's comprehensive portfolio of innovative LED components including high-power, Chip-on-Board, high brightness and LED modules. This agreement demonstrates Cree and Avnet’s shared commitment to provide customers with the industry’s best LED solutions and service to continue driving LED adoption.

HC Semitek, released a statement Wednesday night stating it acquired leading global Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor manufacturer MEMSIC.

Panasonic announced it will be raising its lighting revenue from JPY 320.3 billion (US $3.02 billion) from 2015 to JPY 400 billion by 2018, according to a report from Nikkei.

Affected by oversupply issues in the LED industry, leading Taiwanese LED EPI-wafer manufacturer Epistar (the company) lowered production costs by adjusting its production capacity and integrating subsidiaries FOREPI and Huga Optic resources, reported Taiwan media Apple Daily.

Six cities in Indian state Chhattisgarh in central India to replace conventional CFL streetlights and tube lights with LEDs soon, reported the largest English newspaper in the region The Hitadava.

IGNIS Innovation (IGNIS), a Canadian emissive display technology company, announced the execution of a Patent License agreement with LG Display, the Seoul-based world-leading display manufacturer. Under the agreement, IGNIS will provide LG Display under a non-exclusive license, access to its circuit technology to enhance the performance of OLED displays. As recognized by the display industry leaders, circuit technology is crucial for today’s AMOLED applications including TV, IT, high resolution smartphone, virtual reality, automotive and next generation printing.

Cambridge City Council in UK has started a major new project to install new low energy LED lighting at two of its multi-story car parks.

Once again, pioneering lighting technology from Osram is being fitted to a production vehicle. This time it is OLED technology (Organic Light Emitting Diode) in the tail lights of the new BMW M4 GTS. These organic area light sources take up very little space, opening up design options that car manufacturers have so far only dreamed about. “Our OLEDs in the tail lights of the BMW M4 GTS make us the first company to have this new technology on the road in a production vehicle.