News

Co-op Live in Manchester, the UK’s largest indoor arena with 23,500 seats, runs its lighting on a single DALI-2 control platform from Simmtronic. DALI-2 is the certified open standard for digital lighting control. The system links nearly 9,000 luminaires and over 800 control lines, automates emergency lighting tests and lets the show production system trigger lighting scenes during events.

FORVIA shows technology for agricultural and off-highway machinery at EIMA International in Bologna from 10 to 14 November 2026. The highlight is FORVIA HELLA’s new 90 mm LED Lighting Kit, a one-to-one replacement for halogen modules. Compared with the company’s Bi-LED modules it is up to 45% shallower, up to 70% lighter and almost 80% more efficient on high beam. Series launch: spring 2027.

Inteplast Group, a US plastics and paper manufacturer with more than 10,000 employees, acquired ALP Lighting Components on November 1, 2026. ALP, family-owned since its founding in 1972, makes optics, reflectors, louvers and other parts for light fixtures and has nearly 230 employees at four sites in the US and Mexico. President Adam Mayse stays on and expects capacity and product range to grow.

Dutch grow light maker Climalux has developed a new power supply unit (PSU) that lets greenhouse growers replace SON-T lamps (high-pressure sodium lamps) with its LED grow lights without changing the existing power cabling. The PSU is dimmable, has a low inrush current and sits outside the lamp, which keeps the fixture compact. SON-T lamps are being phased out under stricter European rules.

The DALI Alliance presented the DALI Lighting Awards 2026 at Light + Building 2026 in Frankfurt. Entries nearly tripled; 13 projects won and three were highly commended. DALI is the open standard that lets lights and controls from different makers work together. Winners range from a Hong Kong residence to Ezhou Huahu Airport and Apple’s London headquarters.

Mercedes-Benz is developing LED displays laminated into car windows. Mini LEDs in the rear window can show brake lights, warning symbols or traffic information to drivers behind; micro LEDs suit small, high-resolution displays. A holographic projection turns the windshield into a screen. Shown on 3 November 2026 with an 800-volt Power Converter delivering up to 3 kW, all are still in development.

Two experiments at Pennsylvania State University show that light with a larger color gamut (TM-30 Rg) and less saturated reds makes a room look brighter at the same illuminance. Melanopic light, which targets the eye’s daylight-sensing cells, raised brightness only at 4700 K and 40 lx and lowered it at 2800 K and 120 lx. Published in Building and Environment, November 2026.

Penguin Solutions has agreed to sell its LED business Cree LED to Transom Capital Group, a US private equity firm, in an all-cash deal. The price was not disclosed. Closing is expected in the first quarter of 2027. Cree LED, which stands for about 10% of Penguin’s projected fiscal 2027 net sales, will then run as a standalone LED company, while Penguin focuses on AI data center infrastructure.

In a blog post of 15 October 2026, Dr. Jörg Strauss, head of ams OSRAM’s LED, IRED and Laser business, frames automotive lighting as Digital Photonics: emitters, sensors and software working together in the software-defined vehicle. He covers EVIYOS microLED headlamps with 25,600 pixels, ALIYOS LED-on-foil, RGB-i interior LEDs and IR emitters for driver and occupant monitoring.

Lumitec, a manufacturer of LED lighting for boats and other extreme environments based in Delray Beach, Florida, marks its 19th anniversary in November 2026. Founded in 2007 by John Kujawa, the company was among the first to make LED underwater and spreader flood lights for boats, developed the Poco digital lighting control system and has been part of Clarience Technologies since 2019.

France’s TE83 has launched a €20 million tender to modernize public lighting across the Var region. Covering LED upgrades, smart controls, and maintenance, the project is divided into eight lots. Bids are due November 24, 2026.

Zayed International Airport’s Terminal A in Abu Dhabi runs the world’s largest DALI lighting control system – DALI being the open standard for digitally controlling lights. Delmatic’s installation manages about 180,000 luminaires, 35,000 emergency luminaires and over 10,000 sensors and switches across 742,000 m², adapting light to daylight and occupancy.

In October 2026, Signify said it will stop selling professional lighting directly in Austria and hand projects to ELEKTRON from 2027. UK MOT tests now accept approved LED bulbs in halogen headlamps. Signify scientists showed that a tiny dose of UVB light in offices keeps winter vitamin D higher, a commentary called “good light” the next growth story, and Cree LED launched Mint LEDs for plants.

The new Cree LED J Series® JK5050B 6V D Class White LEDs are designed for high-output indoor and outdoor lighting, including street lights, parking-lot luminaires and parking-deck fixtures.

The TALQ Consortium has released Edition 5 of its free smart street lighting tender template. Available in seven languages, it introduces two new DALI D4i TALQ Zhaga Profiles, helping cities specify interoperable, future-proof lighting networks with seamless communication.