18 January 2011

Epistar targets $1/500lm in 2012 then $1/1000 lumen in 2015 for LED lighting

To gain an advantage in the global LED lighting market, Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Epistar will actively lower the brightness cost of its LED lighting products and aims to reach the goal of US$1 per 500 lumen in 2012, three years earlier than the schedule set by the US Department of Energy (DOE), report Digitimes.

Hoping to become the leading LED supplier in the global LED lighting market in 2013, Epistar intends to reach clients' expectation ahead of schedule and take a lead in reducing the cost per lumen, indicates chairman Lee Biing-jye.

Market sources also note that, due to benefits from increasing demand from TV backlighting and the general lighting market, Epistar’s revenues are expected to rise 37% year-on-year to NT$27bn (US$931m) in 2011.

Based on Epistar’s internal schedule, overall LED lighting costs will drop to US$1 per 250 lumen in 2011, and the firm should have a 5% share of the global LED lighting market. The firm aims to reduce the cost of LEDs to US$1 per 500 lumen and boost its share of the global LED lighting market to 10% in 2012, then to US$1 per 1000 lumen with a 25% market share in 2015, and to 60% by 2017.

Epistar indicates that the current market price is about US$1.5 for an incandescent bulbs and US$2.5 for an energy-saving lighting bulb, while quotes for an LED light bulb is about US$5 wholesale and US$12.5–15 retail. If the market price of an LED light bulb drops to US$7–8 in 2015, the share of LEDs in the global lighting market could reach 25%, and help to drive the value of the LED lighting industry to 50% of the total lighting market, the firm reckons.

See related items:

Epistar expects 25–30% growth in 2011; plans $280m bond issue

Tags: LED lighting Epistar LEDs

Visit: www.digitimes.com