Germany increases focus on infrastructure, LED lighting

Germany has invested in SSL in automobiles and streetlights, and now broader investments are being encouraged to build a larger SSL manufacturing base.
Germany is calling for increased foreign investment in LED installations. The country’s LED lighting sector is expanding rapidly, with an expected double-digit annual growth through 2018 according to Frost & Sullivan, a market research company. The firm has also estmated the LED lamp industry in Germany will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27% between 2008 and 2018. Solid-state lighting (SSL) companies are well positioned for the next growth phase within the lighting industry, say Germany Trade & Invest experts, who are attending this year's LED/OLED Expo in South Korea. The Expo opened today and runs through Friday.
"The energy revolution in Germany is enabling many infrastructural upgrades. Several German cities have already begun testing LEDs in street lamps and in buildings," stated Jonathan Schoo, electronics and microtechnology expert at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin. "The German automobile industry is also exploring the advantages of LEDs, which could draw in valuable investments," added Schoo.

"There is a call for foreign investment to support increasing LED installations. Germany provides an excellent infrastructure and a skilled workforce for international companies interested in taking advantage of the recent energy shift in the country," said Schoo.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand business activities in Germany. Earlier this year, results of a survey that Ernst & Young performed, "Business Location Germany 2012," indicated that despite the euro crisis, Germany created 43% more jobs last year than in the previous year. In addition, 60% of 840 international managers polled expect Germany's attractiveness to further increase. In response to the global economic slowdown and continued euro crisis, 91% of international investors believe Germany will withstand the current challenges.