The lighting industry worldwide faces a paradigm shift as a new era of lighting appears at the horizon: that is Solid State Lighting (SSL). Light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on inorganic semiconductors are mercury-free, have a long lifetime and instant on/off, can be colour tunable and most important: they will become the light source with the highest energy-efficiency in the near future. Thus, LEDs are able to outperform all existing light sources and reduce CO2 emissions significantly.Key success factor for the broad penetration of LEDs into the general lighting market is a solid state light source with high system efficiency & high quality at moderate cost. This is the major objective addressed in this project which integrates research at major technological fronts:- New ceramic technologies for warm white LEDs with high colour quality- Innovative miniaturized multi-chip LED packages with high light output- Universally applicable & highly efficient LED light engines and LED luminaires trough:a) Low-loss, small size electronics enabling colour steering and CCT-adapted dimmingb) New concepts for no-noise active coolingc)Low-loss optics enabling perfect colour homogeneity and minimized colour fringes- Acceptance studies to define the term "quality" for LED solutionsThe concept of SSL4EU is to bundle various competencies across Europe with the aim to enable this new era of solid state lighting. The main objectives are:- Miniaturized LED packages with light outputs up to 4000 lm & high colour quality white- Universally applicable LED light engines with:• System efficiency of > 75% (>100 lm/W in operation @ 3000 K)• Preferred emission spectrum with respect to application (home – shop – office)• CCT-adapted white light dimming•´Colour tunability (all colours to white, from 2000 to 6500K)These approaches will keep Europe at the forefront of the energy-saving SSL business and strengthen its position in the manufacturing supply.