Solid-state lighting source: a business opportunity of US$32 billion in 2024

SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France – September 30, 2019: SSL sources aren’t new technologies. In fact, they’ve existed since the 1960s. However, only in the last 25 years have they started appearing in high-volume applications. Yole Développement (Yole) estimates therefore that the overall SSL source market will grow from US$20.4 billion in 2018 to US$32.3 billion in 2024, at a 8% CAGR betweek 2018 and 2024.
“Such growth will be driven mostly by LED technologies”, comments Pars Mukish, Business Unit Manager at Yole. “However, related market share will decline from about 84% in 2018 to 73% in 2024, reflecting different market/application dynamics and a transition towards LD technologies.”
Under its new technology & market report, Status of the Solid-State Lighting Source Industry, the market research and strategy consulting company is offering a global examination of SSL source trends. This new analysis reveals the overall SSL source types (visible LED , UV LED, IR LED, EEL , and VCSEL ) and proposes a deep understanding of SSL source markets, applications, industries, and technologies. In addition, Yole’s analysts point out SSL source players, dynamics, and rankings.

Yole Group of companies, including Yole, System Plus Consulting and Knowmade investigates the lighting industry for a while and is building step by step a deep industrial and technical knowledge. In 2019 the team announced an impressive collection of technology, market and IP analyses focused on the different light sources: VCSEL, EEL and more.

As a example, VCSEL in Smartphone – Comparison performed by System Plus Consulting proposes a relevant comparison of current VCSEL technologies for smartphones. Today, up to three VCSEL dies can be integrated in a smartphone: 3D recognition with the flood illuminator; the dot projector; and ToF for the proximity sensor. “Already integrated in flagship smartphones, these functions will quickly find a home in all smartphones, causing a sharp increase in VCSEL demand”, comments Sylvain Hallereau, Senior Analyst, at System Plus Consulting.

To propose a complete analysis of the VCSEL ecosystem, KnowMade developed a deep added-value patent analysis to describe the VCSEL IP landscape. “The release of the Apple iPhone X in 2017 and its range of optical sensors triggered new opportunities for VCSEL players to address a high-volume market,” comments Paul Leclaire, Patent Analyst at KnowMade. “At the beginning of this new era, where new applications such as LiDAR or 3D sensors are arising, understanding the IP position and strategy of historical VCSEL IP players as well as identifying the IP newcomers and the threat they represent is essential.”

Under this dynamic context, Yole Group is announcing today a new growth era for the solid-state lighting industry and details its analysis:
“LED revenue will continue to thrive on visible applications over the next five years, with general lighting holding the majority, about 45% of the total “LED opportunity.”, asserts Pierrick Boulay, Technology & Market Analyst, Solid State Lighting and Lighting Systems at Yole. “However, such an application has already reached a certain degree of maturity, and thus related LED devices can be considered as commodities – leading to a high-volume/low-margin market.”
Automotive lighting and direct-view displays are other booming LED applications. These will become critical for the industry’s survival, since most other applications can be considered as declining or “flat” (i.e. LCD backlights). The one exception is horticultural lighting, which is still emerging.
A large part of the LED industry also has a foothold in the non-visible LED market, with UV and IR LEDs highlighting several high-potential applications (i.e. gas sensing and water disinfection). But these are still emerging, and will take time to materialize.
In parallel, the LD industry is booming. Several applications are rising and plenty of others are emerging or in development.

  • And VCSEL, driven by the integration of front 3D cameras in smartphones, will likely see a 5x market revenue increase from 2018 – 2024. And this is just the beginning, with smartphone rear 3D cameras and LiDAR likely next in line.
  • From its side, EEL will experience strong but much steadier growth during the same period (i.e. only a 2x revenue increase), driven mostly by optical transceivers and the increased development of telecom infrastructure (around 55% – 65% of EEL market opportunity). Here also there are a large number of applications that could further boom in the future – for example, LiDAR and sensors.

In this context, it is likely that the visible LED industry will further consolidate in the future as markets reach maturity. Such a trend will directly impact other SSL source industries, since several visible LED players might “forage new lands” in order to survive.

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About Knowmade
Knowmade is a Technology Intelligence and IP Strategy consulting company specialized in analysis of patents and scientific information. The company helps innovative companies and R&D organizations to understand their competitive landscape, follow technology trends, and find out opportunities and threats in terms of technology and patents.
Knowmade’s analysts combine their strong technology expertise and in-depth knowledge of patents with powerful analytics tools and methodologies to turn patents and scientific information into business-oriented report for decision makers working in R&D, Innovation Strategy, Intellectual Property, and Marketing. Our experts provide prior art search, patent landscape analysis, scientific literature analysis, patent valuation, IP due diligence and freedom-to-operate analysis. In parallel the company proposes litigation/licensing support, technology scouting and IP/technology watch service.
Knowmade has a solid expertise in Compound Semiconductors, Power Electronics, Batteries, RF Technologies & Wireless Communications, Solid-State Lighting & Display, Photonics, Memories, MEMS & Solid-State Sensors/Actuators, Semiconductor Manufacturing, Packaging & Assembly, Medical Devices, Medical Imaging, Microfluidics, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutics, and Agri-Food.