In April the Taiwan government allocated a fund to help finance private LED-lighting research and development projects, and now the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) plans to bring the lighting-fixture and LED industries together to fight for a larger share of the global market for lighting fixtures, which is expected to be worth US$92 billion in 2010.
Senior MOEA officials believe that the increased availability and falling prices of LED lamps, plus their energy-saving and non-toxic properties, will trigger a new round of replacement buying of lighting fixtures worldwide.
The ministry has instructed the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to work with the private sector do develop lighting fixtures for LED-lighting manufacturers. The first tasks in this effort will be the establishment of a common industry standard for LED lights, and the training of personnel.
The officials predict that the price gap between LED lamps and cheaper cold-cathode fluorescent lamps will narrow to between 1.2 and 1.3 times within three years (from three times now), bringing LED prices down to acceptable levels. More importantly, the efficiency of LEDs is expected to improve from 60 lumens per watt now to 100 lumens, making them feasible for everyday lighting purposes.
However, the officials note, there is a knowledge obstacle between the LED and lighting-fixture industries; LED makers are good with LED and photonics technology, but know little about lighting-fixture design and distribution channels, while the opposite is true of lighting-fixture suppliers. And, with LED producers still working on solutions that will improve efficiency, the LED-lighting market will not take off before next year at the earliest.
Providing Subsidies, Boosting Revenues
Under the LED-lighting development plan announced by the MOEA in April, NT$2 billion (US$60.6 million at NT$33: US$1) will be set aside for LED R&D work over the next four years. The target is to boost the revenues of the local LED industry to NT$540 billion (US$16.36 billion) in 2016.
In the next four years the government will set aside another NT$1.05 billion (US$31.81 million) to help manufacturers develop high-efficiency and high-end LED light sources, NT$45 million (US$1.36 million) to develop quality-control and inspection equipment, NT$210 million (US$6.36 million) to develop standard modules for general illumination, NT$60 million (US$1.81 million) to establish indigenous LED standards and inspection platforms, and NT$80 million (US$2.42 million) to promote up-, mid-, and downstream integration in the industry.
At a conference of domestic industrial leaders and experts called to discuss development strategies for the local LED illumination industry, Economics Minister Steve R.L. Chen announced the new funding and reiterated the government’s confidence in the development of LED manufacturing as Taiwan’s third "trillion NT dollar industry" after semiconductors and TFT-LCDs (thin film transistor-liquid crystal displays).
"To relieve the pressure of skyrocketing energy prices and respond to the rising awareness of the need to minimize greenhouse-gas emissions," Chen stated, "development of the new-generation LED illumination industry is the sure way to go."
The ministry is doing its part by promoting energy conservation. Its Bureau of Energy, for example, is promoting the widespread adoption of LED illumination by replacing all of Taiwan’s conventional traffic lights with LED models, encouraging the use of LEDs to replace conventional emergency-exit lights, and choosing demonstration buildings for the installation of LED lighting.
Environmentally Friendly LEDs
The bureau has pinpointed LEDs as a critical industry for environmental protection and energy conservation. In addition to installing about 430,000 more LED traffic signs, the MOEA wants to install LEDs in all of the island’s 1.35 million street lights. Demonstration LED street lights are expected to be ready for use next year.
A development strategy that the bureau has worked out for the industry included four prongs: the development of high-quality equipment and devices for LED lighting sources, promotion of the LED illumination industry and establishment of inspection platforms consistent with international standards, demonstration of LED illumination applications, and provision of assistance to domestic manufacturers in the development of international markets and the boosting of the industry’s image worldwide.
Some concrete steps have already been taken. The MOEA has organized seven local LED-lamp makers (China Electric Mfg. Corp., Epistar Corp., Lite-On Technology Corp., I-Chiun Precision Industry Co., Alliance Optotek Corp., Lustrous Technology Ltd., and Wei Min Industrial Co.) into a group to draw up industrial measurement standards and inspection processes for LED chips, LED packaging, LED modules, and power-supply and lighting fixtures. They will be aided by NT$170 million (US$5.1 million) in funding from the ministry.
The government will also help to develop vital verification standards, and will seek know-how about inspection validation from foreign inspection institutions. The group aims to develop verification technology for indoor LED lamps, LED projectors, and LED streetlamps, all of which will have a life-cycle of 20,000 hours. Other manufacturers will be invited to join the group in setting industrial standards for emerging lighting applications.
Director General C.S. Chen of the MOEA’ s Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection reports that his agency recently completed national standards for LED traffic signs, and for LED lighting sources in emergency lights. Revised standards that allow the use of LEDs in street lamps are expected to be announced by the end of the year.
The Bureau of Energy and the Department of Industrial Technology, both MOEA agencies, promise full support for domestic manufacturers developing LED lighting sources under special technology development projects. These special projects will not be limited by the normal ceiling of NT$30 million (US$909,090) on subsidies for each R&D project.