A Boost for Manufacturing R&D - LED Lighting

New York Times (Broydo Vestel) -  The government is awarding $37 million for more research into LED lighting development.

As part of the government’s aggressive push for more energy efficient lighting options, the Department of Energy announced Friday it had awarded more than $37 million in stimulus funds for research and development projects that will help advance the market for products that use light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. A significant portion of the 17 projects selected to receive money were proposed by well-known lighting companies, including General Electric, Osram Sylvania, Philips and Cree. The awardees have promised to pony up an additional $28.5 million in private-industry matching funds for the projects, and to spend the money in the United States.

This is the sixth round of Energy Department funding for solid-state lighting projects, but the first time money has been given to develop better manufacturing technologies. According to the department, the focus on manufacturing is part of a new initiative to accelerate adoption of LEDs by improving quality and cost – while also encouraging production in the United States.