Nanostructures half the breadth of a DNA strand could improve the efficiency of light emitting diodes (LEDs), especially in the “green gap,” a portion of the spectrum where LED efficiency plunges, simulations at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) have shown.

The Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA), a wholesale power supplier, was awarded a recent U.S. Department of Energy grant to fund the retrofitting of outdoor street lights in member communities with light emitting plasma and LED street lighting fixtures. Through a competitive process, the communities collectively selected the GE’s energy-efficient Evolve™ LED Roadway Cobrahead fixtures to replace mercury vapor, metal halide and high-pressure sodium lamps, some of which had been in use for more than half a century.

Cree has received a matching $2.3 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to advance its research and development of light-emitting diode, or LED, lighting products. The agency said the $10.1 million in competitive, matching grants to five companies are for two-year projects that "will focus on achieving significant cost reductions while maintaining quality by improving manufacturing equipment, processes, or monitoring techniques." Greg Merritt, vice president for marketing with Durham, N.C.-based Cree, said Wednesday the company has been working with the DOE...