The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded another $14.8 million in funding for development projects aimed at advancing solid-state lighting technologies.

General Electric Co and Cree Inc denied on Tuesday that the largest U.S. conglomerate has selected the lighting manufacturer to supply GE light-emitting diodes, disputing an analyst's assertion.

Cree is announced to make a breakthrough on the record of 231 lumens per watt for a white power LED.

In January 2009, LG Display signed a MOU with Cree for it to supply LED chips, key components in value-added liquid crystal display (LCD) products. But an LG spokesman Monday described the MOU as "meaningless" now.

LED maker Cree reported a profit on Tuesday that missed Wall Street estimates and forecast lower-than-expected earnings in the current quarter due to high inventories and falling prices, sending its shares lower in after-hours trade.

"Our checks in Asia suggest the bear case of competitive pressure on Cree likely takes longer to develop," he writes. "We note that many LED chip makers in Korea, Taiwan and Japan continue to out-source high-power LEDs from Cree, as their in-house yields on lighting-class LEDs are not sufficiently high." Zaman says that Cree and Nichia "continue to split the market for lighting-class LEDs for the near term."

Cree CEO Chuck Swoboda participates in Presidential roundtable on US innovation and clean-energy technology

Cree announced revenue of $131.1 million for its third quarter of fiscal 2009, ended March 29, 2009.