11.02.21
Imec announced that Apple Inc. has joined imec’s brand-new Sustainable Semiconductor Technologies and Systems (SSTS) research program. The SSTS program is the first initiative rallying stakeholders from across the IC value chain to anticipate the environmental impact of choices made at chip technology’s definition phase.
Using concrete and reliable models, and detailed (carbon) footprint analyses, the program will help the IC-making industry cut back on its ecological footprint – as part of the global fight against climate change, resources depletion and pollution.
Over the years, the introduction of ever smaller, more powerful and increasingly more energy-efficient generations of chips has made smart devices progressively more sustainable. In contrast, it is precisely the world’s growing dependence on semiconductor technology and its intricate production processes that have largely added to the IC-making industry’s own ecological footprint; a footprint not only characterized by high energy consumption and the use of chemicals, scarce materials, and ultrapure water – but also by the emission of greenhouse gases such as NF3.
Creating a snowball effect – backed by Apple Inc.
“Many systems companies are carbon neutral today for their corporate footprints and have expressed the ambition to have their entire carbon footprint to net zero by 2030. They are very committed to achieving that goal, yet often lack the data to decipher the IC part end-to-end. That is where imec comes in. We have that data, and are ready to support the industry with all necessary insights, tools, instruments and numbers,” said Luc Van den hove, CEO of imec.
“Moreover, companies realize they can only become carbon neutral if their whole supply chain follows suit. So, that is the snowball effect we want to create – together with Apple – today: I would like to call upon the whole semiconductor value chain not to stand at the side, but to act as one and to join forces with us to cut back the entire semiconductor industry’s ecological footprint,” he added.
Using concrete and reliable models, and detailed (carbon) footprint analyses, the program will help the IC-making industry cut back on its ecological footprint – as part of the global fight against climate change, resources depletion and pollution.
Over the years, the introduction of ever smaller, more powerful and increasingly more energy-efficient generations of chips has made smart devices progressively more sustainable. In contrast, it is precisely the world’s growing dependence on semiconductor technology and its intricate production processes that have largely added to the IC-making industry’s own ecological footprint; a footprint not only characterized by high energy consumption and the use of chemicals, scarce materials, and ultrapure water – but also by the emission of greenhouse gases such as NF3.
Creating a snowball effect – backed by Apple Inc.
“Many systems companies are carbon neutral today for their corporate footprints and have expressed the ambition to have their entire carbon footprint to net zero by 2030. They are very committed to achieving that goal, yet often lack the data to decipher the IC part end-to-end. That is where imec comes in. We have that data, and are ready to support the industry with all necessary insights, tools, instruments and numbers,” said Luc Van den hove, CEO of imec.
“Moreover, companies realize they can only become carbon neutral if their whole supply chain follows suit. So, that is the snowball effect we want to create – together with Apple – today: I would like to call upon the whole semiconductor value chain not to stand at the side, but to act as one and to join forces with us to cut back the entire semiconductor industry’s ecological footprint,” he added.
