Oct 18 2007
A new partnership with Duke Energy has Cree hoping to spread the word about its light-emitting diode technology.
The companies said this week that they'd collaborate in a program meant to evaluate whether Cree's energy-efficient LED technology is viable for widespread use.
Cree has installed 19 parking lot lights at one of the parking lots on its Durham campus. Charlotte-based Duke will team with Raleigh nonprofit Advanced Energy and the Electronic Power Research Institute to measure the energy efficiency, maintenance needs and commercialization potential of the fixtures.
Reached for comment Wednesday, a Cree spokesperson said the project was meant to help validate the company's technology.
"Our interest as an LED manufacturer is in accelerating the market for LED lighting," said the spokesperson, Greg Merritt. "So that's what we're hoping to achieve. There's still not widespread recognition of the fact that LED lighting is economically viable now, and we're trying to spread that word."
Cree is in the midst of transforming itself. The company's main market has been in chips that power colored lights on products such as cell phones and car dashboards. But increased competition from foreign manufacturers has it eyeing the commercial lighting market.
Duke Energy, for its part, is in the middle of a much-publicized energy efficiency campaign. A spokesman said its participation in the Cree project is meant to be evaluative.
"The end goal is just to see what exactly these LEDs are capable of doing," says spokesman Tom Shiel.