Philips Lumileds CTO wins prestigious Economist Innovation award for Energy and the Environment

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHI) today announces that George Craford, Chief Technology Officer for Philips Lighting Lumileds, was honored last night with the Innovation Prize in Energy and the Environment at the 2007 Economist Innovation awards, held at The Science Museum, London.


George Craford’s research work in solid-state lighting has enabled LEDs to be transformed into a viable, energy-efficient replacement for traditional incandescent and fluorescent light sources. Philips LEDs are now used in applications from architectural and entertainment lighting to retail and office luminaires and even car headlights. Solid-state lighting is an area of considerable strategic importance to Philips. The Lighting sector has identified this technology – along with the general energy-efficient category – as one of its main drivers for future growth.


Tom Standage, Business Editor at The Economist, said, ‘George Craford and Roland Haitz’s pioneering work on the development and commercialization of LEDs means that the proportion of human energy consumption attributable to lighting will finally go down.’


The innovations in LEDs have helped to create a practical replacement for conventional lighting that is energy efficient and will help reduce CO2 emissions and the need for power plant expansion. At the same time, LEDs are able to create great atmospheres and enable never-before-possible applications.


Held annually, the Economist awards recognize the individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of new products, processes and markets in seven areas: bioscience; computing and telecommunications; social and economic innovation; ‘no boundaries’ business process; consumer products; and energy and the environment.