On March 8, 2026, the 13th edition of Light + Building – The World's Leading Trade Fair for Lighting and Building Services Technology – opened at the Frankfurt Exhibition Center in Germany. Under the guiding theme "Be Electrified – Electrifying Places. Illuminating Spaces." , the fair is structured around three core pillars: "Sustainable Transformation," "Smart Connectivity," and "Symbiosis of Light and Space." This thematic evolution signals the lighting industry's shift from purely functional illumination toward intelligent, systemic, and emotionally resonant integrated solutions. "With these three themes, we are directing the industry's attention to the most critical and essential future developments in the lighting and building technology sector," stated Steffen Larbig, Brand Director of the fair. Nearly 2,000 companies from around the globe are participating. Among them, the Chinese contingent is notably strong, ranking as the second-largest exhibitor nation with approximately 600 companies (including those from Taiwan and Hong Kong, China), moving up one place compared to the previous edition.
1. Chinese Power Collectively Goes Global, Covering the Entire Industry Chain
At this year's fair, Chinese lighting enterprises demonstrated formidable strength in going global, forming a positive trend of "group exhibitions achieving success across multiple fronts." The China Association of Lighting Industry (CALI) organized a group exhibition of over 30 companies, including Yuzhong Gaohong, Everfine, Yond Optical, Fangda Intelligence, and Sepu Lighting, presenting their latest products in smart lighting, commercial lighting, and industrial lighting at Light + Building 2026, showcasing the newest technologies and achievements in the development of China's lighting industry.
The Zhongshan Municipal Government took the lead in organizing a joint exhibition of 41 local specialized lighting enterprises. On the very opening day, they secured inclined orders exceeding 10 million yuan, with professional buyer information increasing by 13% compared to the previous edition, underscoring the international recognition of Chinese lighting products. Notably, this year's fair featured, for the first time, a "Green Zone" themed around "Green + Sustainability" specifically for Chinese companies. Aligned with the global trend of sustainable development, it showcased green lighting products "Made in China," including Proled's high-power LED filament lamps and solar street lights, Leiguang Lighting's high-power energy-saving floodlights, and Jiwei Lighting's lamps with high thermal conductivity recycled aluminum bodies.
This year's fair saw Chinese companies covering the entire LED industry chain, from core components to lighting application products, and further to smart lighting control systems and solutions, comprehensively displaying the strength and elegance of China's lighting industry. Almost all leading brands were present. Traditional giants like Opple, Bull Group, Sanan Optoelectronics (through subsidiaries Luminus and Lumileds), Foshan Lighting, Unilumin, Nationstar, and Refond, alongside major exporters such as Leedarson, Tospo Lighting, Yankon Lighting, and Honyar, made collective appearances. Companies focusing on niche markets or specific fields, including Ocean's King, Hpwin, Silux, Skyui, Ziguang Lighting, Yuji Technology, and Sepu Lighting, also actively participated, showcasing their specialized products.
Within the Chinese pavilion, the trend towards branding and professional presentation became increasingly evident, with customized booth construction becoming the mainstream choice. Over 60% of the exhibition area occupied by Chinese companies featured individualized decoration to create brand images and immersive experiences, enabling in-depth dialogues with global buyers in a more professional manner.
Opple, alongside its design brand OLL, appeared in Hall 4.1. The "Light as Cloud" themed booth, designed by Chris van Duijn, Partner at OMA, took "cloud" as its core vision, creating an immersive space through the combination of light, shadow, and materials. This marked Opple's fifth appearance at Light + Building, while OLL seized this opportunity for its international debut. On-site, multiple highly scenario-based product experience rooms were set up, showcasing star products like the Edge Series, Bubble Series, Sky's Garden Lite, and Sky's Garden Pro. Based on SDL (Smart Dynamic Lighting) spectral technology, they comprehensively presented a full-scenario lighting product matrix and intelligent solutions.
At this exhibition, Foshan Lighting meticulously crafted a product matrix covering diverse scenarios including home, office, outdoor, and commercial spaces. Among them, the SkyLight became a focal point on-site, thanks to its groundbreaking Rayleigh scattering technology, healthy circadian algorithm, and intelligent dimming system, enabling it to highly simulate the full spectrum of natural sky light changes throughout the day, suitable for high-end residential, office, and commercial spaces. Additionally, they showcased canopy lights and under-cabinet lights, reflecting their strategic commitment to building a full-scenario smart lighting ecosystem.
Notably, Aero, as the first Chinese exhibitor to enter the 3.0 International Hall, broke the previous absence of Chinese participants in this hall. This not only reflects the company's inherent strength but also signals a further upgrade in the penetration of Chinese lighting brands into the global high-end market. Aero presented a narrative of light and shadow oriented towards high-end hotel spaces, integrating smart technology with sensory design to construct hotel-grade lightscape experiences.
TYF Samef-semi showcased its MOD series modules based on the Zhaga standard, covering diverse application scenarios: intelligent dimming and tuning modules, featuring three-step CCT (2700K/4000K/6500K) DIP switch, low flicker design, and high integration, provided plug-and-play efficient solutions for global luminaire manufacturers; ERP modules aided green compliance; commercial modules ensured safety and high CRI; full-spectrum modules championed healthy lighting.
LTECH appeared with its comprehensive lighting control product system and one-stop solutions, focusing on its smart home system with native Matter protocol, Matter smart drivers and controllers enabling cross-brand interoperability, while also upgrading the Triones Smart Home series central control gateway covering office, outdoor, home, commercial, and other scenarios. Its entire product line incorporates five core LTECH technologies: distributed scene storage technology, T-PWM® million-level ultra-deep dimming, RGBCW wide-gamut adjustable spectrum algorithm, and STAR-Tech.
Inventronics focused on four major application scenarios: commercial, industrial, sports, and road & area lighting, showcasing wired and wireless lighting solutions based on open standards, and presenting the latest performance in promoting standardized DALI protocol applications. Furthermore, the HubSense wireless lighting control platform, based on the Bluetooth NLC standard, supports multi-vendor interoperability and seamlessly integrates with building management systems.
Sosen Electronics, at booth E79 in Hall 8.0, displayed its NS-V series supporting 5-in-1 dimming (D4i/DMX-RDM/0-10V/PWM/Resistor), with power coverage from 600-1800W and efficiency up to 97.5%. Its PA HF efficient D4i driver, featuring ±1% metering accuracy, has become a core choice for high-end smart lighting projects.
2. International Giants' Forward-Looking: From Smart Connectivity to Autonomous Buildings
In contrast to the pragmatic innovation of Chinese companies, international brands focused more on the future plan of "smart connectivity" and "autonomous buildings," building industry wall through technological ecosystems. This echoed the fair's core theme of "Energizing an electrified future" and confirmed the trend of the lighting industry integrating into building systems and evolving into the human environment industry.
Signify appeared in Hall 5.1 with a comprehensively upgraded brand image. The booth design emphasized natural light simulation technology, restoring daylight effects through innovative solutions. Key highlights included its professional lighting and OEM lighting solutions, covering full-scenario products and solutions such as NatureConnect, myCreation 3D printed luminaires, BrightSites smart poles, Interact smart lighting system, Philips LED luminaires, and smart home brands Philips Hue and WiZ.
ams OSRAM demonstrated how innovative technologies infuse energy, intelligence, and emotion into living, working, and mobile spaces. From smart cities to connected buildings, its advanced LEDs, sensors, and ICs empower dynamic lighting systems, enhancing safety, efficiency, and comfort. In urban environments, ams OSRAM solutions support adaptive road lighting and modular designs, responding to environmental changes and user needs; indoors, technologies enable responsive lighting systems to seamlessly integrate into human-centric design. Through applications like safety-enhanced emergency lighting/smoke & temperature sensing, and UV-C air treatment for improved indoor air quality, the company continues to push the boundaries of light, visualization, and sensing technologies.
Forum 0 was exclusively occupied by the Austrian giant Zumtobel Group, featuring its brands Zumtobel, Thorn, and Tridonic together. Tridonic participated under the core theme "Enabling far-sighted spaces," focusing on three key dimensions: energy efficiency, infrastructure, and data. It showcased DC solutions like high-voltage DC microgrids, smart sensing and digital tools like the airASPECT air quality sensor, and customized lighting solutions covering diverse scenarios like outdoor, office, and airports, demonstrating how innovative lighting solutions empower various spaces.
At the booth of Austrian brand XAL, the classic magnetic track system MOVE IT PRO was a highlight. It has numerous innovative functions, supporting pendant, surface-mounted, and recessed installation. Conductors are integrated on both top and bottom of the track, allowing bi-directional luminaire placement and enabling indirect and direct lighting effects. While traditional inserts are linear, newly added flexible designs come in two diameter options (30cm and 50cm), suitable for curved area installation. Additionally, new wall washers, acoustic panel luminaires, and wall lights were presented.
Looking across this edition of Light + Building, while the highlights of Chinese and international companies both have their own remarkable products, the underlying industry trends reflected are highly consistent. Lighting products themselves are attempting to "recede" from being the visual focal point, instead emphasizing light's role as a building material. This underscores the profound transformation of the lighting industry from a "product industry" towards a "human environment industry."