LED predictions pull no punches

The LED industry is never anything short of interesting, and this past year has had something of a schizophrenic quality to it; 2016 was the year that LED lighting simultaneously lived up to expectations (in markets such as horticulture and automotive headlamps) and in some cases arguably failed to meet its own hype (as was the case with, say, human-centric lighting and Li-Fi).

2016 has been the year when the Chinese LED manufacturers really flexed their (not inconsiderable) muscles and started to move from mid-power to high-power LEDs. The Chinese have also been key figures in the merger and acquisitions markets with both Lumileds and Osram Opto in their sights. However, in keeping with the resurgent protectionist atmosphere of 2016, the Lumileds deal was blocked due to security concerns, while the Osram deal is looking in the balance. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out in 2017.