A Swiss property company SPG gained a new “second skin” of light and vertical offset glass topped with LED façade luminaires developed by German lighting company ERCO. 

A floating farm built by a Dutch company, Beladon, is expected to open in the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by the end of the year, reported BBC. The world first offshore farm has been built in the middle of Merwehaven, aiming to serve as a sustainable food source for the city. 

Rooted in the U.S. since 1901, Sylvania was acquired by SH Felio Acoustics in 2017 and has become a Chinese company, Felio SYLVANIA, with the focus on the global market. Targeting the growing LED lighting market of South East Asia, Sylvania has been proactively expanding its business in the area and has set up branches in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. 

Cree has launched XLamp XP-G3 LED S Line, an optimized version of its series for the applications of connected lighting. On the other hand, Tridonic has released its fifth generation 5 LLE module featuring high efficacy.

Quantum Materials Corp, a U.S. based quantum dot manufacturer, has announced its achievement of exceeding 7,000 hour continuous on-time durability test for the company's cadmium-free quantum dots in a remote LED.

In April, the U.S. government has proposed a list of 1300 Chinese exports and announced to impose 25 percent tariffs on these products, following the Section 301 investigation. Later in July, the Trump administration released the second tranche of additional tariffs on US$ 200 billion worth of Chinese goods. As LED products are included in both tariff lists, LEDinside has continued to follow and analyze the impacts of the tariffs on LED lighting business. 

Vietnam’s historical monument, the “Imperial City” in Huế, has been illuminated with architectural LED lighting provided by Signify.

Taiwanese semiconductor component provider TOPCO has announced that it will join the Touch Taiwan display show to introduce materials and components that are crucial for Micro LED/Mini LED technology development. 

SleepScore Labs has released a study to prove that using Good Night® LED Sleep-Enhancing Lights in the evening helps people to fall asleep more easily and feel more rested the next morning. 

Architectural SSL announced today that Lumileds has won a 2018 Product Innovation Award (PIA) from Architectural SSL magazine for its line of Integrated Light Guides under the Matrix Platform Advanced Technologies.

Telecom operator O2 has announced its partnership with pureLiFi for a trail network using LED lights to provide high-speed wireless connection for data transmission. 

German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen has been recalling 700,000 of its Tiguan and Touran cars around the world due to the possible short-circuiting risk of their LED lights.

Signify has announced a new series of its Philips Hue products and will showcase them at IFA 2018. With a wide range of products including luminaires for bathrooms, living rooms and gardens, Signify aims to provide a smart home lighting system.

Cree announced that the company intends to offer US$500 million aggregate principal amount of its Convertible Senior Notes due 2023 in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers. In addition, the initial purchasers of the Notes will be granted by Cree an option to purchase up to an additional US$75 million aggregate principal amount of the Notes, for settlement within a 13-day period from, and including, the date on which the Notes are first issued.

Industry sources have leaked in February that LG planned to release its first Micro LED TV in September. LG Electronics will reportedly launch its Micro LED TV at the IFA electronics trade show in Germany, according to a report from The Investor. 

The technology developments on wearable devices have created numerous applications with the purpose of improving the convenience and well-being of life. In the first half of 2018, several researches and projects combining LED technologies and wearables were revealed. Meanwhile, whether the new Apple Watch will adopt Micro LED has been a focus to all.

Lighting and electronics specialist HELLA will present intelligent lighting and electronics solutions for trucks, trailers and buses at the IAA Commercial Vehicles, which will take place during September 20-27th in Hanover, Germany.

The lighting brand under Everlight Electronics has changed its name from Everlight Solid-State Lighting to Everlight Intelligence Technology. The gesture is to indicate the company’s transformation from a lighting producer to an integrated solution provider who connects lighting with IoT and other novel technologies to offer diverse intelligent solutions according to different needs. 

Taiwan-based LED auto lamp modules and components manufacturer EOI (Excellence Optoelectronics Inc) has reported high profit margin for 1H18 which was pushed by the strong demands of LED automotive lamps in the North American market.

LG Innotek has reportedly launched visible LEDs for disinfection lighting which uses indoor light to deliver sterilization effect, according the report of Korea Herald. 

Ultravision International, a U.S. based manufacturer and distributor of LED displays and LED lighting, has announced its capacity expansion in Dallas which will boost its production and increase the workforce of the company.

Heliospectra has announced that the company received orders from an Australian manufacturer and researcher who provide products and services to the international pharmaceutical industry. The Australian company has invested around US$ 78,000 for Heliospectra’s ELIXIA LED lighting solution.

The UK’s Royal Navy has ordered 100,783 LED tubes worth £1 million (US$ 1.27 million) for its flagship warships from Voltacon, a UK based company.

The market value of LED lighting has continuously expanded in the past years with the progress of the technology. According to the latest report of LEDinside, LED lighting market scale will reach US$ 33.3 billion in 2019 and LED lighting market penetration will come to 63 percent in 2022 from 22 percent in 2017.

By September 1, importing or producing new halogen bulbs will be banned in the EU market, as the final phase of EU energy regulations comes into effect. The retailers are allowed to sell their in-stock halogen bulbs but cannot reorder. Consumers have no obligation to replace the old halogen bulbs before they expire. 

The Internet of Thing (IoT) has enabled a connected system to control and monitor lighting for optimizing environments while saving energy. Lighting giants Osram and GE have developed solutions for LED lighting applications in various fields. 

VividGro is the horticultural LED division of Lighting Science Group Corporation and has released a control system, named FlowerMax, for the flowering stage for all crops.

Cree has reported a revenue of US$409 million for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, ended June 24, 2018 with an increase of 14% YoY and 15% QoQ. The revenue for the whole fiscal year was US$ 1.49 billion, which represents a 1% increase YoY. 

Lextar has been reorganizing its production capacities and adjusting its products portfolio, aiming to efficiently integrate its resources and to boost profit margin for the future. 

Lextar has released a series of Mini LED products including Mini LED RGB display modules and Mini LED backlight for notebooks and monitors. The products will be demonstrated at Touch Taiwan 2018 by the end of August in Taipei, Taiwan.