100mW production preparation phase, 150mW development scheduled for Q3 of this year
We will pioneer new markets by collaborating with companies that have ideas.

“UV LED is an innovative light source that can improve the quality of life by making our lives cleaner and safer,” said Park Jong-seok, President of LG Innotek, at a press conference held at the LG Seoul Station Building.

LG Innotek developed a 150-milliwatt (mW) sterilization UV LED this year. Based on this, the company plans to introduce a 200mW model next year and play a leading role in expanding the UV LED market.

UV LEDs are advanced semiconductor light sources that emit ultraviolet rays and eliminate bacteria, mold, and viruses depending on the wavelength. In addition, due to their ability to chemically react with special materials, they can be used for surface sterilization of water and air, medical and bio applications, and curing and exposure devices.

The higher the light output of sterilizing UV LEDs, the stronger the sterilization power. Currently, 2 to 10 mW class LEDs are mainly used in household appliances such as water purifiers and air purifiers. At around 70 mW, it is possible to sterilize flowing water and air, making it suitable for commercial and domestic water supply applications.

UV LEDs can replace mercury-containing ultraviolet lamps. They offer high durability, a long lifespan, and a small size, allowing for a wide range of applications. In particular, since ultraviolet lamps use gas, their sterilization power depends on temperature, requiring a warm-up time. In contrast, LED lamps generate sterilization power the moment they are switched on, regardless of temperature. It has a sterilization power that eliminates 99.9% of Salmonella bacteria in 3 to 4 seconds at 100mW.

According to market research firm Yole Development, the global UV LED market is expected to grow more than sevenfold from $151.9 million in 2016 to $1.1178 billion in 2021.

"The reason the existing LED market has struggled to expand is that sufficiently large LEDs have not yet been produced," President Park explained. "The 100mW light output LED developed last year is ready for production, and the 150mW output LED will be completed in the third quarter of this year."

He stated, “We can also supply it at a lower cost than existing solutions. Previously, if the power was high, the size of the main body was large, but now we can make it small without volume limitations while maintaining high power,” adding, “We will expand the base of the LED market by solving problems that existing methods could not solve with our developed solution.”

LG Innotek has chosen a mutually beneficial approach with partners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to rapidly expand the UV LED industry ecosystem. Song Jun-oh, Head of the LED Business Division, stated, "There are many difficulties for LG Innotek to grow the market independently. We intend to move in a direction of cooperation with SMEs." He added, "Since LEDs generate a significant amount of heat, scientific design is crucial. We plan to provide support by making our verification database for these aspects public." "In addition to this, we will jointly pursue certifications and patents, and provide a 'total solution' that even covers the promotion lacking for SMEs," they stated.

President Park emphasized, “LG Innotek is a B2B components company. Our role is to provide platforms, such as chips and modules, using innovative technology,” adding, “Any company with an idea simply needs to integrate it into our platform. An ecosystem can only be formed when these ideas are gathered quickly. We will actively support such companies.”