News Updates for the Week of August 19

1.     DOE Announces FY 2014 SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunity - The U.S. DOE Office of Science announced a funding opportunity on August 12, 2013, for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. Under this opportunity (DE-FOA-0000969), DOE seeks applicants for funding directed toward FY14 Phase I and Fast-Track (combined Phase I and Phase II) projects. Topics for this funding opportunity can be found at http://science.energy.gov/sbir and include solid-state lighting. Qualified small businesses with strong research capabilities in science or engineering in any of the research areas sought in the announcement are encouraged to apply. The OLED community is encouraged to review topic 13c.

2.     74% Market Penetration Predicted for White-Light LED - A comprehensive U.S. DOE report predicting the market penetration of LED white-light sources from 2010 to 2030 is available free from the National Lighting Bureau (www.nlb.org). Titled Energy Savings Potential of Solid-State Lighting in General Illumination Applications, the report, released last year but not updated since, predicts that growing reliance on LEDs.  The report predicts that, compared to conventional incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, and HID white-light sources, the rate of LED market penetration will increase steadily, rising to 36% of general-illumination lumen-hour sales in 2020, and to 74% percent by 2030. http://www.nlb.org/index.cfm?cdid=10975&pid=10213

3.     Cree Shines Bright in Fourth Quarter - Cree announced revenue of $375.0 million in the fourth quarter, up 22% from revenue of $306.8 million in the same quarter last year. Net income for the fourth quarter was $28.2 million, up 182%. For the full year, Cree's revenue of $1.39 billion marked a 19% increase over the previous year. Net income for the fiscal year was $86.9 million, up 96%.  Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. 8/15 HCN

4.     Honeywell Exits the LED Business - Honeywell leadership has decided to exit the LED business in North America. The leadership team's decision was required based on significant personnel changes at the Honeywell LED factory in China, lack of engineering capability needed to support and scale the business along with other business factors.  This change will allow focus on the E-Mon core meter business and other Honeywell product lines. See Don Millstein’s announcement letter: http://www.edisonreport.net/files/4813/7659/8879/LED_Update_Annoucement_8_13.pdf

5.     HID Lamp Shipment Indexes Remain Dim - NEMA’s shipment indexes for HID lamps declined on a year-over-year basis for the fourth consecutive quarter in 2013Q1. Shipments of sodium vapor lamps decreased 14.1 percent to an index reading of 71.2 during the quarter. Mercury vapor lamp shipments were down a similar magnitude at 13 percent to 44.2, the third lowest level in the index series. Metal halide lamp shipments fell too, posting an index value of 77.5, a decrease of 9.5 percent.See more at: http://www.lightnowblog.com/#sthash.WYnE5e6m.dpuf

6.     Smart Meters for C&I Markets Will Total $19.1 Billion in Revenue from 2012 to 2020 - According to the recent report, “Smart Meters for Commercial and Industrial Markets,” from Navigant Research, cumulative worldwide revenue from smart meters for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers will total $19.1 billion from 2012 to 2020. It also provides market forecasts through 2020: http://www.navigantresearch.com/research/smart-meters-for-commercial-and-industrial-markets

7.     A New Snapshot Report on Outdoor Area Lighting - Snapshot Reports utilize the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) LED Lighting Facts^®  product database --  which currently has more than 8,900 products registered --  to help industry stakeholders understand the current state and trajectory of the SSL market for a particular application or group of applications. The latest Snapshot Report, released last month, focuses on LED outdoor area lighting, including the LED Lighting Facts categories for outdoor area and roadway, parking garage, and canopy luminaires. www.ssl.energy.gov/ledlightingfacts.html

8.     'Smart Glass' Blocks Heat, Light at Flip of Switch - Researchers say they have created a new kind of "smart glass" -- one that can, at the flip of a switch, block heat and still stay transparent, or grow dark to reduce the sun's glare. This material, described online Wednesday in the journal Nature, could one day help slash energy costs and reduce pollution from buildings like the glass monsters that tower out of urban cityscapes. Such 'tunable' windows could help reduce lighting, heating and air-conditioning costs across cities. 8/15 Los Angeles Times

9.     Lighting Rep Network Debuts New Website to Pair Sales Reps with Quality Manufacturers -Created by Michael Katz and Dan Schmalen, LRN thoroughly evaluates lighting manufacturers to ensure reliability. Through a free subscription, LRN membership provides the network of lighting sales reps the opportunity to take on new manufacturing lines in their respective territories. Product quality, customer service, commission and shipping methodology must meet or exceed the LRN’s standards to be considered credible for representation by Network members. http://lightingrepnetwork.com

 

10.  Catch The Buzz at LCA - The Lighting Controls Association offers a new feature at their website–THE BUZZ. This new section provides a single page from which you can access social media feeds (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) from Lighting Controls Association members going back to 2010. http://lightingcontrolsassociation.org/social-network-feeds-2013/

11.  The OLEDs Summit - Only at the 15th annual OLEDs World Summit will you see Sony, LG Display, Konica Minolta,UDC, Panasonic, Philips and Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) and many more of the industry's most influential players in one room together talking about the future of OLEDs - and only OLEDs.  http://www.oledsworldsummit.com/home.aspx