Solid-State Lighting Funding Opportunities

DOE financial opportunities for solid-state lighting (SSL) include competitive solicitations, grants, and other federal funding mechanisms to advance innovative, energy-saving SSL technologies.

DOE SSL PROGRAM

The DOE SSL program supports research and development of promising SSL technologies through annual competitive solicitations that cover three areas:

• Core Technology Research, focusing on applied research for technology development, with particular emphasis on meeting efficiency, performance, and cost targets. This research fills technology gaps to overcome technical barriers.
• Product Development, using the knowledge gained from basic or applied research to develop or improve commercially viable materials, devices, or systems.
• Manufacturing Support, aimed at accelerating SSL technology adoption and encouraging a role for U.S.-based production through manufacturing improvements that reduce costs and enhance product quality.

Together, these three efforts target making SSL competitive with conventional lighting technologies on a first-cost basis and creating a U.S.-led market for high-efficiency light sources. For more detailed descriptions of the R&D pathways, see Definitions of SSL R&D Pathways.

R&D partners and projects are selected based on factors such as energy savings potential, likelihood of success, and alignment with the DOE SSL R&D Plan.