11 April 2012

Philips and Optogan form JV focused on LED road lighting in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus

Lighting solutions provider Royal Philips Electronics and Russian LED chip and luminaire maker Optogan have signed an agreement in Moscow, Russia to form a joint venture (owned 51% by Philips and 49% by Optogan) focusing on the fast-growing LED road lighting market in Russia.

Founded in Helsinki, Finland in 2004 by Russian entrepreneurs and scientists from Ioffe Institute in St Petersburg, Optogan is a vertically integrated develoer and manufacturer of HB-LEDs for applications including solid-state lighting. In addition to having an R&D facility in Helsinki, since founding Optogan GmbH in Germany in 2005 it has established epitaxy and chip R&D plus a pilot line in Dortmund and, last year, its Fab1 chip fabrication plant in Landshut. Also, after founding CJSC Optogan in Russia in 2009, in 2010 it acquired an industrial facility in St Petersburg, where it has established LED component and luminaire production lines.

Picture: Exchange of JV agreement between Optogan Group CEO Maxim Odnoblyudov (left) and Philips Russia CEO Arjan de Jongste (right).

The JV aims to combine Philips’ latest LED road lighting solutions and international quality standards with Optogan’s LED expertise, solutions and understanding of local market requirements. Products developed and manufactured by the JV will be sold in the Russian Federation and within its customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The Philips-Optogan partnership will focus on developing a local LED industry, supporting the energy-efficiency initiatives of the Russian government. Switching to LED street and road lighting can reduce energy consumption by up to 80% and lead to significant savings in service and maintenance costs, it is reckoned. The enhanced visibility created by the brightness of the lighting can also contribute to enhanced security and can help to improve road safety.

The joint venture with Optogan represents “the beginning of a new, ambitious journey to become a key player on the Russian outdoor lighting market,”says Arjan de Jongste, CEO Philips Russia and CIS. “It will unlock new potential for us to bring innovative lighting solutions to Russia that save energy, reduce maintenance costs and increase road safety,” he adds.

“With proven innovative, energy-efficient and cost-efficient solutions in the fields of high-brightness chips, LED components, LED lamps and LED luminaires. Optogan has a very deep understanding of the local Russian market,” claims Optogan Group’s Maxim Odnoblyudov. “By joining forces with Philips we will be able to serve the Russian customers even better.”

Road lighting in Russia is an attractive market segment, says Optogan, as it is anticipated to become one of the leading growth segments for LEDs. Driven mainly by government energy-efficiency programs for the modernization of road lighting, the Russian road lighting market is expected to double over the next four years to €100m by 2015, when the penetration of LEDs into this sector will reach 50%.

Tags: Optogan LEDs LED bulbs LED road lighting

Visit: www.optogan.com