United Arab Emirates (UAE) moves to ban the sale of inefficient lamps starting July 1 in an effort to reduce energy bills and carbon emission. 

China based San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto) has signed a three year cooperative agreement with Honglitronics on June 24 in hopes of increasing domestic market share in the LED market. 

A team of researchers at Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) have developed aluminum nitride (AlN) substrate for high power LED. The project is backed by Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affair’s Technology Innovation Center, according to Taiwanese media source Micro-Electronics on June 20, 2014. 

China Fangda Group (Fangda) announced a day earlier that it will be investing RMB 100 million (US $) to establish a new energy subsidiary to develop LED industry technologies and other new energy technologies including photovoltaics and building integrated photovoltaics applications, according to a report by China Securities Journal.

A team of researchers in Japan have developed a new technology for creating GaN LEDs on glass substrate, according to Japanese media source Nikkei Technology.

SandlerResearch.org adds LED Market in South Korea 2014-2018 new industry report in its store. An LED is a semiconductor light source used for various applications such as general lighting, back lighting, and automotive lighting. LED lighting applications include residential, office, retail, hospitality, industrial, outdoor, architectural, and others. LEDs are gaining acceptance in these applications because of their greater efficiency and low cost. 

Novagant is a holding company that acquires entrepreneurial companies that have established or are expected to establish themselves as leaders and/or successful enterprises in various market niches. Recent acquisition of property rights that have the ability to reduce costs and improve product quality for the entire cannabis market has prompted this analyst report.

In the U.S., lighting accounts for approximately 23 percent of a hotel’s energy cost. To expedite and encourage savings, Hubbell Lighting announced today a new energy efficient lighting program to cut hospitality electricity costs by 60 percent, translating to a 5.58 percent increase in profitability.

In this latest lighting project entry by Adam Burton, Social Media Manager, Zumtobel Lighting introduces a new lighting display that “dances” to music beats. Famed Korean artist Sung Wan Kim uses his installation "I will dress you, howl bowel owl" to play with the mediums of light and sound. In collaboration with the musician David Michael DiGregorio (aka dogr), Sung Wan Kim has composed an audio piece using the works of poets such as Rainer Maria Rilke as a source of inspiration. A key component of the project - the lighting - was realized in cooperation with Zumtobel.

Soccer fans long anticipated 2014 Brazil World Cup games has taken the globe by storm. Many fans might have noted the LED ad displays decorating the 12 stadiums at Rio de Janeiro. The displays are actually the works of Chinese manufacturer Aoto Electronics.

A bureau under Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced Tuesday, LED bulbs in the country will be required to undergo mandatory tests starting next month, according to a CNA report.

People in Chicago will soon see metal fixtures wrapped around light poles in several areas throughout the city this summer. They are not decoration however, but data-collection sensors. 

Chinese LED manufacturer Leyard Optoelectronic (Leyard) is showing ambition to expand in the European market with its latest funding round, according to a Shanghai Stock Information Service report.

Chinese LED manufacturer Tanlong Photoelectronics (Tanlong) announced the resignation of two executives during a board meeting on June 23, 2014.

As lighting consumption continues to increase, solid state lighting will become a major driving force for LED lighting growth that is expected to grow for several years, said Micheal Schmitt, Regional Marketing Director at Osram during LEDinside’s LEDforum at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) on June 11, 2014.

Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm Sequoia teams up with Austrialian based smart lighting start-up LIFX with a US $12 million investment. The investment bumps up LIFX’s total funding to US $16.6 million. 

Leading Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar acquired bankrupt Taiwanese blue-ray CD and LaserDisc manufacturer Optodisc factory for NT $836 million, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Epistar plans to expand AlInGaP and InGaN LED production at the new factory site.

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) is reportedly using the US $578 million received in prepayment from Apple to expand sapphire production through establishing an additional facility. This new facility will produce roughly 20 million sapphire displays per year on top of the 200 million estimated from earlier reports, said Analyst Matt Margolis via BGR. 

The Brazil World Cup 2014, which officially kicked off on June 13, 2014 at São Paulo is entering climax. This year’s game has taken an interesting turn, since the last World Cup champion Spain was knocked out of the game. Sixty four years have elapsed since soccer nation Brazil hosted the global sports event. Although, the Chinese soccer team was disqualified from the World Cup this year, Chinese-made LED displays have successfully earned “front row seats” to the world’s top sports event.

Low price has been the key to success in the LED industry as market penetration rates rise. However, manufacturers will need to look into different avenues to keep ahead of the pack as price competition intensifies. Ray Chock, Philips Lumileds Sr. Director of Marketing and Business Development shared his insight on where the industry is heading in regards to the lumen per dollar trend during LEDforum at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition 2014 on June 11 in China. LED bulb prices drop dramatically LED bulb prices have dropped over the past few year...

The roads throughout the city of Phoenix are being lit more efficiently through a more than 95,000-fixture conversion to LED street lighting---a move expected to save the Valley of the Sun upward of US $100,000 each year.

Samsung Display recently revealed plans of selling outdated LCD equipment from a production line in Cheonan, South Korea to Chinese manufacturer Truly, according to a recent Yonhap News report.

Our favorite picks of the week might be a bit of a surprise, smart LED light yoga mat TERA makes headlines this week. The new application is a good demonstration of integrating smart lighting technology with health and fitness products. More rumors about Apple have emerged too, as the company is actively seeking out potential smart lighting partners for its smart home projects. The much anticipated iPad Air 2 is also rumored to be using sapphire material, although, liquid metal will be temporarily ruled out.

China is researching on LED lighting subsidies and policies at the moment, according to a report from Chinese-language Yancheng Evening News. Manufacturers interviewed indicated Chinese government’s new subsidies were “highly likely” to further promote the generalization of LEDs. Competition among manufacturers have advanced from single product technology to the next level involving systems.

Philips signed a multilateral agreement with Xuchang City government in China and VisionMax (Shanghai) Electronic Technology (VisionMax) to establish a LED lighting manufacturing base, according to a report by GG-LED.com.

The industry’s new round of global LED patent competitions will bring new challenges to the industry, said Ryoichi Tohmon, Director of Intellectual Property Project of Global Marketing and Sales Department at Toyoda Gosei during a talk at LEDforum Guangzhou 2014 in Guangzhou, China on June 11, 2014.

The ongoing penetration of OLED displays in mobile phones and wearables and renewed prospects for the OLED lighting market will catapult the OLED materials market from around $900 million in 2014 to $3.7 billion in 2019.

Taisei Corporation, Okamura Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) have jointly developed OLED desk lamps for office use. The newly developed OLED desk lamps will be installed in a Net-Zero Energy Building (ZEB)* verification facility that Taisei Corporation is constructing in the city of Yokohama. The OLED lamps, which emit soft light over a wide area, will be tested on an office-wide basis and are expected to reduce energy consumption while creating a more comfortable work environment.

The LED industry is fierce. For manufacturers to stay on top, they must make products that outshine their competitors. Therefore, manufacturers are continuously launching new products with high light outputs and longer lifespans to keep consumers coming back. Some of the claims however are too outlandish to be true. 

Cree and Musco Lighting might be working closely to light up Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California, U.S. with 1,600 custom made LED lighting fixtures utilizing some 250,000 LED lights. However, the current lighting installation will only be on display till March 2015.