The seven German partners in the European EnLight consortium have announced that they will aim for a further 40% reduction in the energy consumption of LEDs during R&D projects over the next three years.

EnLight has received around €11 million in funding to date. Almost half of the fund has come from the project’s industry partners, and €2 million has been contributed by the European Union.

Meanwhile in the US, Macy’s has announced plans for a lighting retrofit that will see one million halogen bulbs replaced with LED spotlights.

It is estimated the lighting efficiency project will save the retailer $1 billion in electricity and maintenance costs over the next ten years. Macy’s is the first US department store to implement the use of LED lighting on a wide scale.