The Canadian government recently announced it will be subsidizing in total CA $82 million (US $62.2 million) over a five-year period to National Optics Institute (INO) to support research in optics and photonics for industrial applications.

More than 23,000 sodium streetlights will be replaced with LEDs in a large streetlight project rolled out in Sunderland city in UK. 

With ballot results confirmed in three U.S. states for the recreational use of marijuana, and three for medical use, the increased demand on energy consumption in pro-cannabis territories is expected to skyrocket, continuing the trend towards LED “grow light” solutions that curb energy consumption and reduce energy costs to growers. Lighting Science’s® patented VividGro™ LED lamp is proven to increase yields by up to 30% while using 45% less energy. Today, the company announced that sales of their VividGro LED indoor grow lights increased by more than 100 percent over the past year alone. The cannabis industry is anticipated to jump from $6 billion to $50 billion by 2026.

MechaTronix, part of the Eight Lakes Group and headquartered in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, announced its next major milestone with the acquisition of Cooling House. Cooling House, based in New Taipei City, Taiwan, is a technology leader in advanced two-phase cooling. Their high power cooling solutions are based on advanced heat pipes and thermosyphons. As experts in remote heat transfer, they can offer innovative thermal solutions that save energy on an application level and that enable system builders to use higher performance electronics components.

Quantel Laser announced the appointment of Dr. Steve Patterson as CEO of their Quantel U.S. subsidiary. A nine-year US Army veteran with service in the 1st Ranger Bn., Steve comes to Quantel after successfully leading DILAS Diode Laser’s US office through rapid growth and market expansion. Prior to DILAS, Dr. Patterson held technical and management positions at nLight Photonics and Sharp and has been involved in several technology start-ups. Dr. Patterson holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has authored numerous technical papers and has two patents to his name.

Perfectly lighting a renowned modern and contemporary art museum, Soraa’s LED lamps now illuminate the Nicolas Sursock Museum in Beirut, Lebanon. Built in 1912 by aristocrat Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock, the villa was given to the city of Beirut as an art museum upon his death. The Sursock Museum first opened its doors to the public in 1961 with a mission to collect, preserve and exhibit local and international art.

Plessey, a leading expert in the manufacture of lighting and sensing products and components, is pleased to announce that its LEDs will be lighting up the Compton Verney Park, Warwickshire, UK in a lighting spectacular entitled “IN LIGHT” to commemorate the 300th anniversary of renowned British Landscape Architect; “Capability” Brown, who shaped the vision of the picture-perfect English countryside. The Plessey LEDs are being used in the Consol Solar Jars™ which are manufactured by Suntoy, a South African based company. Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park are using 1000 Consol Solar Jars™ as one of its key set pieces. Plessey’s GaN on Silicon LEDs are being used as they offer manufacturers unique flexibility when designing custom light fittings due to their compact, eco-friendly and sustainable nature. 

Providing a turnkey solution for lighting and controls integration, MaxLite introduces a wireless controls kit, featuring technology from EnOcean®, that pairs with the company’s line of indoor LED fixtures to help facilities conserve energy and comply with building code requirements.

Hubbell Lighting, a world leader in lighting innovation, announced that Hubbell Outdoor Lighting has introduced the new Litepak LNC3, completing its Litepak wall mount family.

BIOS Lighting, a manufacturer and internationally recognized innovator of LED lighting solutions for biological and agricultural industries, today announced that they will be unveiling Icarus Gi II, the newest addition to their Icarus line of industrial grade grow lights, while exhibiting at the fifth annual Marijuana Business Conference and Expo in Las Vegas Nov. 16-18, 2016.

A day before the U.S. presidential elections 2016, Californian voters passed a Proposition 64, which legalizes adult marijuana usage for recreational purposes.

LED manufacturer Lextar third quarter financial results for 2016 recently showed positive developments.

Samsung Display plans to raise small to mid-sized OLED panels production by 35% in 2017 to meet surging OLED panel demands from Chinese smartphone manufacturers, Korean media Pulse cited a Samsung Display official saying.

Revenue rises about 6% on a comparable basis in 2016. Adjusted EBITA margin increases to 12.5%.  Proposed dividend of EUR 1.00 (US $1.13) per share. Osram managing board expects growth pace to continue in 2017.

Today, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C78 revised ANSI C78.1195 American National Standard for Electric Lamps—Double-Capped Fluorescent Lamps—Safety Specifications. Adopted by ANSI ASC C78 as a nationally acknowledged international standard, this revision of IEC 61195, ed2.2 (2014-09) includes deviations for clauses 2 and 3.

Data glasses mirror information to the eye without interfering with the wearer‘s vision. However, the battery runs down quickly, because the electronics consume a great amount of electricity while playing back the images. Fraunhofer researchers have developed an energy-saving display that reduces the power consumption to a fraction. The new display will be presented at the electronica trade fair in Munich from Nov. 08-11, 2016.

Opel will launch the next-generation of IntelliLux LED® lighting with the all-new Insignia in 2017. In addition to the numerous benefits of the award-winning matrix technology introduced for the first time last year on the Astra, the even more refined and sophisticated IntelliLux LED® headlights of the new Insignia feature additional functions that further improve nighttime visibility

Updated and improved with Next Generation LEDs, Amerlux unveils Murro High Power LED Wall Washers, which are engineered to fulfill specification demands for small profile, high output and better distribution styled fixtures. The compact, passively cooled Murro HP LED wall wash commands attention from a shallow form factor.

Ushio America introduces the ENERGY STAR® certified Uphoria™ Edge LED MR16 lamp family. Available in 5W and 6.5W models, these lamps offer an energy saving alternative for 35W to 50W halogen lamps with improved efficacy compared to their LED predecessors.

GlacialTech, the diversified lighting and thermal solution provider and innovator, is today pleased to announce two efficient new heat pipe-equipped heatsinks suitable for high wattage LED bay light applications from 200W to 350W: the Igloo SR250HP-3 and the Igloo SR350HP-3.

Debuting its OLED signage product portfolio for commercial applications on Tuesday, large Korean consumer electronic manufacturer LG is moving away from big-screened OLED TVs for home entertainment in Taiwan.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry, is going to showcase its newest infrared, automotive and lighting products at electronica 2016. The newest offerings will be supported by six daily half-hour product introductions on all four days of the show (Stand: Hall A3, 307).

YAMING Lighting, the gold sponsors of Light Middle East 2016 returns to the show after a successful outing last year. Rashid Al Noori, Chairman of YAMING MEA and CIS, said, "Since the last Light Middle East edition we have been in close contact with the industry's key players and have signed partnership with distributors within the region”.

Lighting Science, a global leader in next-generation LED lighting solutions, announced that it has been awarded a contract by Vizient. With an annual purchasing volume of almost US $100 billion, Vizient is the largest, member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country.

On Oct.14, 2016, EU RAPEX (Rapid Exchange of Information System) recalled two LED luminaries from the consumer market. One was a color changing LED Bulb, the other one was a high power LED lamp. Both products were recalled because they pose potential electric shock to users due to inadequate circuit insulation or loosely attached parts. Last Friday, on the newly released RAPEX report, four other LED luminaries were listed: linear fixture by Best-LED, LED Magic Ball Light and LED Sun Magic Ball by ASA, and LED Floodlight by GREENLUX.

The Lighting Industry Association (LIA), Europe’s largest trade body for the lighting industry, is launching its own range of insurance services for its 280 members.

Power management company Eaton, a 2016 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year, today announced Eaton’s lighting and controls specialists will teach alongside Lighting Design Lab (LDL) experts this month. The continuing education classes help utility program managers, lighting specifiers and lighting project managers learn the latest energy management and conservation solutions including advanced lighting and controls technologies.

The transformative powers of innovation and imagination will converge in a global presentation of light and technology at LIGHTFAIR®International 2017 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia May 7 – 11 (Pre-Conference LIGHTFAIR Institute®: May 7 – 8; Trade Show & Conference: May 9 – 11).

Jasco Products, industry leader in Z-Wave lighting technologies, today announces the first-ever Enbrighten Z-Wave Plus LED Smart Bulb now available for consumers. Adding to a comprehensive ecosystem of indoor and outdoor dimmers, switches, sensors and Z-Wave smart controls, Jasco’s Enbrighten LED Smart Bulb is fully dimmable and offers a new way for users to interact with their smart home without requiring any wiring or complicated installation. Breathe new life into your home’s Z-Wave network by upgrading to Enbrighten LED Smart Bulbs.

Internet of Things pioneer Echelon is ranked among the top three providers of smart connectivity deployments in a global study of the LED and "smart" networked street lighting market. The independent study was recently published by Northeast Group which analyzes and forecasts the market from 2016 through 2026, and finds that the next wave of Internet of Things (IoT) investment will take place in the public outdoor street lighting market. According to the report, “Echelon was an early mover in the smart streetlight field.” The company also captured the number one position in Asia-Pacific for installed market share.