Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) announces the commercial availability of XLamp® Extreme High Power (XHP) LEDs, a new class of LEDs that enable a system cost reduction of up to 40 percent for lighting applications. The first LEDs powered by Cree’s revolutionary SC5 Technology™ Platform, XLamp XHP50 and XHP70 LEDs provide twice the lumen output and improved reliability compared to previous LEDs of the same size. The groundbreaking technology of the new XHP LEDs will help drive the next major innovations in lighting system design.

“Cree’s new technology is game-changing compared to the incremental advances of other LED suppliers. The breakthrough performance of XHP LEDs enables both new design possibilities and dramatically lower system costs for LED lighting,” said Nate Heiking, Advanced Lighting product manager, Kenall Lighting. “We’re excited that Cree’s new class of Extreme High Power LEDs will accelerate customer adoption of LED lighting.”

XHP LEDs allow lighting manufacturers to drastically reduce the size and cost of their lighting system design by using fewer, more reliable LEDs to achieve the same brightness. XHP LEDs enable new lighting designs that require fewer optics, a smaller printed circuit board, a smaller housing and less handling. XHP LEDs also achieve longer lifetimes even at higher operating temperatures and currents than previous LED technology, allowing lighting manufacturers to reduce heat sink size and cost without impacting the rated lifetime.

In addition, XHP LEDs enable other cost reductions at the system level not possible with other LED solutions. For example, in roadway and outdoor area lighting, on top of the luminaire cost savings, XHP LEDs can produce a radically smaller and lighter luminaire that requires a less expensive pole. Similar dramatic cost savings over existing solutions may be achieved in a wide variety of lighting applications, including track, stadium and high bay.

“Cree’s new Extreme High Power LEDs demonstrate our belief that high-power LEDs are what will drive the industry towards the next generation of lighting system designs,” said Dave Emerson, vice president and general manager for Cree LEDs. “Leveraging our groundbreaking SC5 Technology™ Platform, Cree’s new XHP LEDs deliver not only exceptional performance, but also enable up to 40 percent system level cost reductions.”

As the first LEDs to incorporate the SC5 Technology Platform, the new XHP LEDs introduce significant advancements in light output, color consistency and design flexibility. XLamp XHP50 and XHP70 LEDs shatter the industry’s perceived limit of LED lumen density by delivering up to 2546 lumens at 19 watts from a 5.0 x 5.0 mm package and up to 4022 lumens at 32 watts from a 7.0 x 7.0 mm package, respectively. Through improvements in the light conversion process, Cree has reduced LED-to-LED color variations and, among other options, offers XHP LEDs in 2-step and 3-step EasyWhite® bins for 3500K through 2700K in 80 and 90 CRI. The XHP LEDs introduce a new, innovative package that allows manufacturers to choose either 6 V or 12 V configurations from the same LED through the solder pad design on the circuit board.

Samples of both XLamp XHP50 and XHP70 are available now, and production quantities are available with standard lead times. Please visit www.cree.com/xhp for more information on Cree® XLamp XHP LEDs. For more information about Cree’s SC5 Technology Platform, please visit www.cree.com/sc5.

About Cree

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio frequency (RF) applications.

Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, power suppliers and solar inverters.

Please refer to www.cree.com for additional product and company information.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the risk that actual savings and lifetimes will vary from expectations; the risk we may be unable to manufacture these new products with sufficiently low cost to offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production of our new products; customer acceptance of new LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 29, 2014, and subsequent filings.

Cree®, EasyWhite® and XLamp® are registered trademarks, and SC5 Technology™ is a trademark of Cree, Inc.