A new Horizon 2020 research project called Repro-light – Re-usable and re-configurable parts for sustainable LED based lighting systems – has been launched with the goal of developing the 'Luminaire of the Future'.
The project aims to implement a new modular luminaire architecture, a smart production scheme, and also the development of a reconfigurable customised LED luminaires.
Repro-light brings together experts in light, manufacturing, industry, communication, social technology and sustainability from across Europe.
The first phase of the project is already underway, with the experts initially focusing on analysing customer needs and technical requirements. This information is vital for the following phases and will be gathered by March 2018.
With the LED market currently mid-transformation, shifting its focus from energy efficiency to functionality, the Repro-light project is well-timed to capitalise and lead this conversion, changing the reputation of the LED luminaire from a disposable object into a customisable and sustainable product with a high functional value.
‘Led by representatives and driving forces from the European lighting industry, as well as manufacturers, experts on lighting sustainability and the social sciences, the Repro-light consortium possesses the excellence and the influence to not only execute this project successfully, but also invoke a sustainable change in the European lighting industry beyond the lifetime of the project,’ the project announced in its launching press release.
The consortium is made up of European lighting firms and research institutes Trilux, BJB, Bartenbach and Luger Research, as well as manufacturers Grado Zero Espace and Rohner Engineering, lighting sustainability and life cycle assessment expert IREC, and Mondragon University, prominent in social sciences.
The need for projects such as Repro-light has been highlighted in several recent white papers, including ‘Serviceable Luminaires in a Circular Economy’ published by The European Lighting Association. The white paper highlights the value of a circular economy, and it is just such an economy that Repro-light’s ‘Luminaire of the Future’ is design to be part of.
