Industry News

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO), within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), has published the 2022 DOE SSL Manufacturing Status & Opportunities document. The report examines high-priority opportunities to develop manufacturing technologies that will benefit energy-saving solid-state lighting (SSL) while also supporting an increased role in the global marketplace for U.S. manufacturing of lighting products.

Light-emitting diode (LED) technology has reached wide deployment quickly over the past 20 years, and innovations have been ongoing. This rapid evolution in LEDs, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and SSL-based luminaire products and systems presents opportunities to rethink how products and components are manufactured and to embed sustainable manufacturing processes and materials into the manufacturing supply chain. Opportunities were selected for inclusion in the report based on several factors:

-Potential to leverage the technology improvements across the breadth of the supply chain

-Increased domestic manufacturing opportunities that can make the U.S. competitive in the global lighting market

-Improved sustainable manufacturing

-Manufacturing innovations that enable new form factors and improved lighting application efficiency

The report looks at the LED chip, package, and luminaire markets and the OLED market, including production, supply chain, costs, pricing, and external influences. Characterization of the LED chip, package, and luminaire manufacturing process, equipment, and materials follows, with specific manufacturing opportunities called out. The final section looks at the OLED panel and luminaire industry with manufacturing opportunities pinpointed.

LED, lamp, and luminaire manufacturing are global enterprises with a global supply chain and the geographical distribution of manufacturing operations depends on many factors. New technology advancements, increased automation, and additive manufacturing are promising vectors for innovation, with the potential to maintain and grow the U.S. manufacturing base and add domestic manufacturing jobs. The report highlights DOE’s focus on saving energy through technology development and advanced manufacturing support, with the additional aim of benefitting the U.S. economy to the greatest extent possible.

Download the full document.