News: LEDs
19 February 2021
Osram acquires 20% stake in UV-C LED firm Bolb
Osram GmbH of Munich, Germany is further expanding its expertise in disinfection applications using UV-C ultraviolet light by investing in the UV-C LED specialist Bolb Inc of Livermore, CA, USA, acquiring a stake of about 20% in the firm.
Future cooperation between the two companies in research is aimed at accelerating the industrialization of highly efficient and high-performance UV-C LEDs. Unlike previous solutions, LED-based disinfection systems require very little space and can be installed directly at the point of use - such as in water taps, washing machines or ventilation systems. Space-saving disinfection solutions can make an important contribution to combating the coronavirus, reckons Osram. The market for UV disinfection solutions is currently worth about €1bn and will quadruple by 2027, forecasts Allied Market Research. Market researchers also expect the share of UV-C LED solutions to grow steadily.
Similar to the many advantages that LEDs provide for conventional lighting applications versus traditional lighting technologies, UV-C LEDs promise a variety of benefits for manufacturers of disinfection solutions. These include lower energy consumption, long lifetime and significantly simplified system design due to the compact size of the light sources.
“Osram already has various UV-C light solutions for disinfection, including LED and traditional technologies,” says Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG. “The strategic investment in Bolb strengthens our know-how in the UV-C LED field,” he reckons.
Due to a unique technical building block for UV-C LEDs, Bolb has already achieved efficiency values ahead of other products available on the market, it is claimed. “With Osram’s decades of experience in the development and manufacturing of semiconductor-based products, this partnership sets the course for Osram and Bolb to lead the market for UV-C LEDs,” expects Ulrich Eisele, head of Fluxunit, Osram’s venture capital unit.
