September 27, 2011 — The US Department of Energy (DOE) is accepting funding applications through December 15, 2011, for developers of energy-saving lighting technologies. The Obama Administration authorized up to $10 million for manufacturing research and development on solid-state lighting (SSL), such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs).

The DOE expects solid-state lighting, which can be more than 10x more efficient than incandescent lighting, to reduce the amount of electricity used for US lighting by one fourth by 2030. This would save $15 billion and be the greenhouse gas emissions reduction equivalent of 21 million cars.

Applicants should focus on reducing the cost of LEDs/OLEDs through better manufacturing equipment, processes, and process control. Between 2 and 4 project awards will be granted. These will address the technical challenges facing SSL in the mainstream lighting market, particularly considering cost.

This is the third round of funding directed toward this solid-state lighting research and development program area. Over the course of the program, the Manufacturing Research and Development area has been funded with $28.2 million in federal funding, and leveraged $36.8 million in funding from the private sector.

To apply or for more information, see DOE