The global lighting market value approximated US $11.16 billion in 2013, and is estimated to grow 4 percent to US $11.62 billion this year, according to statistics compiled by Taiwan’s Photonics Industry and Technology Association (PIDA). Although, the lighting market still mainly consists of fluorescent lamps, incandescent bulbs, and other types of light sources such as halogen lamps; LED lights have become a major market growth driver.

Here at Valuelights we all knew LED lighting was awesome but we didn’t realise how much they had been snapped up in the media, hitting the big screens of Hollywood for their chance to shine with the stars. We’ve compiled the top 10 moments LED has gained its 15 minutes of fame, and schmoozed with the rich and famous.

Thailand is emerging as a lucrative export market for LED manufacturers, according to a latest report from Guangdong Science and Technology News.

NVC Lighting announced the company froze second largest shareholder former CEO Wu Changjiang’s shares in the company, according to a Securities Times report. Wu has a total of 130 million company shares, which is worth about RMB 1.06 billion based on the company stock value of RMB 8.15 as of Sept. 29, 2014.

“LED industry inventory level adjustments hit a peak in July,” a cnYes.com report quoted Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee. Market insiders’ project LED lighting PSS manufacturers Crystalwise Technology, Rigidtech and Aceplux Optotech. The market projects revenues in September and October will be unable to keep up high growth, and the market will be stagnant in third quarter.

MechaTronix, with its headquarter in Kaohsiung Taiwan, and Seoul Semiconductor, the world’s fourth biggest manufacturer of LED components, have drafted a cooperation on the design, production and worldwide distribution of standard LED coolers.Seoul’s new ZC series Chip-on-board (COB) LED arrays deliver a system level performance of 700 lumens to over 6,000 lumens. MechaTronix has developed a wide range of standard pin fin and star shaped passive LED coolers which thermally and mechanically match with all variations of Seoul’s ZC COB’s. 

The Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world leader in intelligent information for businesses and professionals, announced its 2014 “Nobel-class” Citation Laureates today. Having accurately forecast 35 Nobel Prize winners since its inception in 2002, the annual Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates study mines scientific research citations to identify the most influential researchers in the fields of chemistry, physics, medicine and economics.

Ford Motor Company is investing in the future as it begins installing LED lighting at manufacturing facilities across the globe. The new lights, valued at more than US $25 million, will save energy and money while improving safety and lighting quality.

Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, today announced that after flattening the light bulb with Philips SlimStyle, the company has flattened the downlight with the introduction of the Philips SlimSurface LED family of downlights. Providing the illusion of recessed downlighting, but with just a 5/8” surface mount design that is nearly flush with the ceiling, SlimSurface allows lighting to be installed in locations where wall and ceiling clearance can be an issue, such as basements.

The clinical study of the iGrow® Hair Growth System titled “The growth of human scalp hair in females using visible red light laser and LED sources” is featured in the October 2014 issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, considered the gold standard journal on laser-based technology. The study, led by Raymond J. Lanzafame, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.S., a board-certified surgeon and expert in laser applications and laser research, demonstrated the clinical efficacy and safety of the iGrow Hair Growth System’s low-level laser therapy (LLLT) to promote hair growth in women.

On April 15, 2013,Guangdong Semiconductor Lighting Industry Association released “Guangdong LED Benchmark System Recommend Products List (LED indoor lighting) SN2013040”，which covers four general categories: LED bulb, LED tubes, LED downlight, LED spotlight. Spark Optoelectronics was successful to be selectedinto this recommend list.

AgiLight, a leading manufacturer and marketer of high performing LED (light emitting diode) sign lighting solutions has signed a distribution agreement with Europe’s leading lighting solutions provider, Vink Lighting Solutions. According to the agreement, Vink will represent AgiLight’s complete lines of PRO Series, SignRayz®, BoxRayz® sign lighting products and LED Power Supplies.

Korean LED lighting industry characteristics can be summarized in two words, innovative and sustainable, said Guoqing Tang, President, LED Business Unit, Samsung, China, according to hqlednews.com. China’s LED lighting business development can be represented by three words: large scale, pragmatic, and herd mentality.  

Under the LED industry’s new restructure trend, statistics compiled by LEDinside found there has been at least 25 mergers in the Chinese market in 2014. Company leaders are greeting each other with “have you merged yet?” or “how is the acquisition negotiations going?” Companies that are missing out on the acquisitions have lost their excellent quality standard.

Veeco Instruments announced today that Epistar Corporation (TSE:2448) has successfully evaluated and accepted the new TurboDisc® EPIK700™ Gallium Nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) system for the production of LEDs.

In this latest blog entry by Philips Lauren Spinella, LED devices take on the task of aiding the visually impaired.

Veteran franchise executive, Marc Plaisted, joins LED Source® (www.LEDsource.com), the leading North American LED lighting solutions provider specializing in architectural, entertainment and retrofit applications, as Vice President of Franchise Operations, a newly created position.(www.linkedin.com/in/marcplaisted)

Grabbing headlines this week, Philips has spin-off its traditional lighting business. Implications of the lighting giant’s recent moves can be found in LEDinside latest press release on the issue. We will be releasing an in-depth report on the issue next week. Toshiba is also vying the India LED market having announced it will be setting up a new R&D facility. Moving into LED technology developments, several universities have announced breakthroughs in LED and OLED technology that can make lighting devices more energy efficient. 

Following the spin-off of Osram from Siemens, global lighting giant Philips recently announced it would split off its lighting business into a stand-alone company on September 23. That move follows an announcement in June that Philips would combine Lumileds, its LED components business and automotive lighting business into a separate company.

In a step that could lead to longer battery life in smartphones and lower power consumption for large-screen televisions, researchers at the University of Michigan have extended the lifetime of blue organic light emitting diodes by a factor of 10.

The art of video projection is becoming a widespread phenomenon. “3D projection mapping creates the illusion of multidimensional movement across or around the contours of any surface.” Many cities are now incorporating this ambitious technological art form as part of their events to tell a story using graphic, historic, cultural or mythical content. We have seen fascinating 3D projections on building façades and cathedrals all over the world, from the Sydney Opera House in the southern hemisphere, to the Canadian Parliament Building in Ottawa, to the Sagrada Cathedral in Barcelona.

Utilities, commercial buildings and more can now rely on a more energy-efficient alternative to traditional high-intensity discharge (HID) security lights with GE’s Evolve™ LED Security Light.

Power management company Eaton today announced that the 2014 Next Generation Luminaires (NGL) Solid-State Lighting Design Indoor Competition recognized the Metalux SkyBar™ light-emitting diode (LED) high-bay luminaire and the Portfolio 8-inch LED downlight from its Cooper Lighting Division. The prestigious competition recognizes and promotes excellence in the design of energy-efficient LED luminaires for commercial, industrial and institutional applications.

Everlight has successfully entered top Chinese smartphone manufacturers supply chain including Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo, according to an EDN report. The company has become a major backlight supplier for Android smartphone manufactures. The company’s revenue in September 2014 is expected to reach new record heights.

Princeton University researchers have developed a new method to increase the brightness, efficiency and clarity of LEDs, which are widely used on smartphones and portable electronics as well as becoming increasingly common in lighting.

Pixelligent Technologies announced today that it has been selected for a Department of Energy (DOE) solid-state-lighting award to support the continued development of its OLED lighting application. The details of the award can be viewed on the DOE SSL website: //www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/fundopps_061214.html. Pixelligent and its partner OLEDWorks were selected as one of only nine awardees nationwide for this US$1.25 million DOE award.

Digital Lumens, the leader in intelligent LED lighting and energy management systems, today announced that its Digital Light Agent family of products integrates directly with the recently announced Philips Advance Xitanium SR family of drivers to make any LED fixture part of a LightRules-managed intelligent lighting system.

Plessey today announced a further ambitious move to aligning its operations to its expanding Plymouth UK facility through the addition of an LED assembly line. The assembly line will enable Plessey to focus on its innovative high brightness LED growth plans based around its solid-state lighting and sensing business, taking new products from concept to production in less time whilst also functioning as an innovation center for the next generation of LED packages.

A Japanese semiconductor technology R&D manufacturer Athene has developed a new technology for manufacturing high precision OLED panels, according to a Nikkei Asian Review report.

Entering its 10th anniversary this year, Taiwanese LED package manufacturer Prolight Opto Technology (Prolight) will become registered on the Taiwan bourse on Sept. 24, 2014. At a press conference, the company explained it expects to apply for listing during first half of 2015, and projects becoming listed on the bourse during third quarter that year.