Elmos Semiconductor SE has secured its first design wins for its new E522.96 LED controller with a German premium automaker, marking a significant step into high-resolution, pixel-based OLED rear lighting. The announcement, reported via NEWMEDIAWIRE, positions the Leverkusen-based chipmaker at the center of a broader shift in how vehicle exterior lighting is designed and used.
The E522.96 controls up to 48 channels, three times as many as previous Elmos LED controllers for exterior lighting. That capacity allows more than 500 light points across both rear lights to be controlled individually and combined into dynamic, customizable designs. For automakers, the immediate implication is fewer components needed to achieve complex lighting functions, which can simplify system architecture while expanding creative freedom for brand-defining light signatures.
The controller is available in CAN-FD and UART versions, letting manufacturers match the communication interface to specific vehicle architectures. This flexibility matters as automakers juggle multiple platforms and increasingly software-defined vehicle designs. Pixel-based OLED rear lights enable animations and communicative lighting functions, but they also raise the bar for precise, reliable control of each individual light point. The design wins suggest that Elmos has met those requirements in a demanding, premium-vehicle context.
Elmos intends to place greater emphasis on exterior lighting going forward, viewing it as a growth area. Vehicle exterior lighting is increasingly becoming a distinctive design element with dynamic functions for communication and safety, not merely illumination. Securing a German premium OEM as an early customer gives Elmos access to sophisticated OLED lighting applications and validates its technology in one of the industry's most exacting segments.
The company is also broadening its portfolio for future vehicle architectures. Smart Edge Gateway ICs can enable communication between LED controllers via Ethernet based on 10BASE-T1S, covering lighting applications on and inside the vehicle. The 16-channel E522.95 controller complements the lineup for brake and turn signal functions. Together, these products point to a more integrated approach to vehicle lighting electronics.
Dr. Jan Dienstuhl, Chief Sales Officer of Elmos Semiconductor SE, said modern exterior lighting combines complex electronics with immediate impact on design, brand recognition, and safety. He said the first design wins with the new E522.96 confirm the company's innovative technology and give Elmos access to sophisticated OLED lighting applications, adding that Elmos intends to develop this attractive growth area even more systematically in the future.
Elmos will showcase an OLED demonstrator using the E522.96 at electronica 2026 in Munich, illustrating how hundreds of individually controlled pixels create a precise and dynamic lighting experience. The original release is available on www.newmediawire.com.
