Brighter, less costly and more efficient, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are making their way into a wide variety of automotive applications, ranging from center high-mount stop lamps (CHMSLs) and turn signals to vehicle cockpits and headlights. "More and more automotive functions are using LEDs," says Viren Merchant, engineering manager for exterior electronics at Visteon Corp., a tier-one automotive electronics supplier. "In the beginning, it was just CHMSLs. Now it's everything from backup lights to rear fogs to daytime running lights."

LG Electronics is fighting back against Samsung's growing grip on the crucial new growth engine in the LED television market, according to an article on The Korea Times. Kwon Il-keun, senior VP of LG's LCD Technology Lab, spent most time of a 20-minute presentation talking of the merits of the company’s LED TVs.

Opto Tech Corp., a Taiwan-based LED manufacturer, has recently won the order to supply over 30,000 LED (light emitting diode) streetlights for the LED streetlight project in Guangzhou, China. As part of its energy-saving program, China is to install over 1.4 million streetlights nationwide by the end of 2009, which will cost an estimated RMB 20 billion. (US$2.9 billion at US$1:RMB6.7).

LG Display Co Ltd announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd, a Japanese provider of OLED materials, to develop high-performance OLED displays. The two companies have signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) which includes technology development and cross licensing of patented OLED-related technologies.

OptoElectronix announced a unique LED-based lighting module that enables luminaire manufacturers to accelerate adoption of SSL (solid state lighting) for commercial lighting fixtures. It delivers the same light output as a 60-watt incandescent bulb at just one-fourth the power and has a 50,000-hour life.

In Bangor, Maine, the U.S., the city councilors have recently approved the recommendation to replace more than 300 streetlights in the downtown area of the city with LED lights, according to an article in the Bangor Daily News. The switch will cost $523,000. Broken down per light, it will cost the city an average of about $1,600 for each LED conversion. The new lights will be paid for with a combination of federal stimulus funding and downtown tax increment financing dollars. After the switch, an estimated $34,000 could be saved every year in electricity.

Market for LEDs in notebooks will grow from around $200 million in 2008 to over $800 million in 2010, according to a new research report available at Electronics.ca.

Future Lighting Solutions yesterday announced the release of SSL Designer, the first online design tool for solid-state lighting applications that combines the ability to set and optimize design parameters based on target specifications with the ability to calculate system costs and payback schedules. The new software – intended as the starting point for developing LED systems – facilitates and accelerates engineering design decisions as well as managing the tradeoffs between performance and costs.

LG Electronics (LG) on Thursday unveiled two new ultra-slim "full LED" LCD TVs in Seoul. And the company said it was aiming to sell as many as 5 million units in 2010.

Axiom NZ announced this week that it has started shipping its AX24 line of LED T-Bar Ceiling fixtures for false grid ceiling applications. The AX2424 is 24" by 24" (2'x2') and the AX2448 is 24" by 48" (2'x4'). Both are designed to be direct replacements for commonly used fluorescent fixtures.

As LED backlight is increasingly being used in LCD televisions, the new lighting source is also becoming common in portable pocket, or pico, projectors. Earlier this year, LED made its first debut in home theater projectors.

Vizio’s previously released 55-inch 1080p/240Hz full-area LED backlit TV, model VF551XVT ($2,200 suggested retail), will ship to retail this September, according to John Schindler, the company’s new product development VP.

The new Tetra® LED Lighting System Architectural Series from GE Consumer & Industrial's lighting business offers a 50,000-hour rated life and delivers high LED performance and energy savings for designs incorporating border lighting, architectural accent lighting, cove lighting and wall washing.

I-Chiun Precision Industry Co., Ltd., a global supplier of LED (light-emitting diode) light guide frames, announced that it has established a joint venture with the Chinese American tycoon Jeffery Wu, a major shareholder of United International Bank of the U.S., to explore the LED lighting market in the U.S., according to a report in Taiwan Economic News.

Led by Soo-Young Park, a professor of organic materials for photonics at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University in Korea, researchers from Seoul National University and University of Valencia in Spain have developed the world’s first pure white LED.

The new LED series from Sharp encompasses eight new white SMD chip LEDs in PLCC2 packages. Their main feature is the high color rendering index of 80 and a light efficiency of up to 90 lm/W, depending on model. Sharp offers herewith its high brightness LEDs with an optimized light quality.

After several technology breakthroughs, Lebelight has become the first manufacturer in the world to mass-produce 130 lm grade 1W LEDs. This new grade of 1W white LEDs are low-cost, long-lasting, and ROHS and CE certified. Lebelight also announced similar breakthroughs to its 0.5W, 1W, 3W, 5W, 10W, 30W, and 100W single-packaged LEDs. Lebelight also produces LED light-fixtures including street lights, tunnel lights, solar-powered outdoor LED lights, coal miner lamps, emergency LED lights, LED bulbs, office and family LED lights, etc.

Samsung Electronics Co said it aimed to sell 2 million light-emitting-diode (LED) TVs this year, bringing the share of the ultra-slim and power-efficient TVs to 10% of its overall LCD TV shipments, according to Taipei Times. The figure would be two times higher than the current 3% average in the global market this year, according to the latest forecast by a market researcher released recently.

With an eye toward aesthetics and architectural enhancement, Amerlux Lighting Solutions has introduced its new Linear Wall Grazer, a polished extruded aluminum fixture housing 8 or 12 watt LED’s per linear foot, created specifically to enhance outstanding architectural surfaces and materials.   Optically and thermally engineered, Amerlux’s recessed LED Wall Grazer features a discreet 2-inch aperture, uses high-output white LEDs, and consumes less than 12 watts per foot with visually stunning results.

Ancient works of art and documents of the Joseon Dynasty are kept safe Acriche lighting fixtures without emission of ultraviolet and infrared rays

Lagotek Corporation, a developer of residential and commercial building automation systems, today announced an agreement with Advanced Control Technologies (ACT), a leader in the development of wired and wireless residential and commercial control products.

In Britain, a student from Brunel University has developed an LED spotlight that can vary its beam without the need for a lens or reflector. The principle of the lamp, invented by Matthew Nourse, is to mount LEDs on a series of leaves. These can then be collectively tilted towards - or away - from the beam axis by turning a collar on a screw thread. Linkages connect the collar and the leaves. 

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been a hot topic in the TFT LCD market due to their rapid adoption in notebook PC displays and the high potential in LCD TV panels. In 2012, 34 billion LEDs will be used in TFT LCD backlights, in sizes ranging from 1" to more than 70", up more than 300% from 8 billion in 2008, according to the new DisplaySearch report Display LEDs: Lighting Up the Display World.

Recently, several companies have been reported to be misusing Energy Star logos to imply that SSL products are Energy Star certified, particularly at the Lightfair tradeshow. As a result, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued guidance on the correct use of Energy Star logos to stop the trend. Richard Karney, Energy Star Program Manager for Solid State Lighting for the DOE, issued a memo to Energy Star Stakeholders to “address a disconcerting trend the Department is seeing in promotional materials of LED products.”

Lighting manufacturer OSRAM SYLVANIA yesterday named Rick Leaman as president and CEO, effective Oct. 1. Leaman will succeed Charlie Jerabek, who will assume a new role as the company’s vice chairman. The announcement was made by Martin Goetzeler, CEO of Munich-based OSRAM GmbH.    Rick Leaman

In the U.S., the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, has completed its first outdoor lighting project that combines light emitting diode (LED) technology with solar renewable energy in place of traditional electricity. Progress Solar Solutions, the City's contractor on the project, LLC of Apex, installed the solar-powered lighting at the City Parks and Recreation Department's Marsh Creek remote operations facility near New Hope Road and Daly Road.

Last year, 5.11 Tactical announced a new high-tech flashlight called Light for Life. And only recently the product has become available to order. The flashlight uses three LEDs, but its key component is Flashpoint Power technology, an ultracapacitor energy storage system from Ivus Energy Innovations.

The Inamori Foundation today announced that Dr. Isamu Akasaki will be among the 25th annual laureates of its Kyoto Prize, an international award honoring significant contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind. Dr. Isamu Akasaki This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Kyoto Prize - a major milestone in the history of the award, which is presented on November 10 each year in three categories.

The UK-based Lighting Association is holding a one-day seminar entitled “LEDs — Time to Engage?” on July 7, 2009 in Stratford upon Avon, UK. The seminar is with the purpose of helping lighting manufacturers better understand the current position of LEDs, where the future lies and to evaluate if the time is right to engage with LED technology.