Arizona Tribune - Innovations in Sustainable Electronics Manufacturing

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS / ACCESS Newswire / January 28, 2025 / Sustainable electronics is currently of critical importance: as demand for electronics continues to grow, the reduction of environmental impact and compliance with anticipated stricter legislation is imperative. In many cases sustainable improvements and operational cost reductions can arrive hand in hand, making implementation desirable on multiple fronts.

As energy and water usage in the semiconductor industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12% and 8%, respectively, between 2025-2035, efficient management strategies are crucial. The electronics market is vast, with integrated circuits (ICs) being the third most traded product globally, presenting significant opportunities for sustainable electronics innovation.

Conventional electronics manufacturing is extremely wasteful, with many harmful chemicals, materials, and manufacturing processes. The new market report from market intelligence firm IDTechEx, "Sustainable Electronics and Semiconductor Manufacturing 2025-2035: Players, Markets, Forecasts", explores the environmental impact of manufacturing PCBs and ICs, highlighting opportunities to mitigate potential environmental damage. These include low-temperature processing, optimization or elimination of superfluous wasteful steps, recycling and re-using materials (where possible), and adoption of novel approaches with the potential to replace conventional manufacturing steps. PCB substrate materials are analyzed, including biodegradable and recyclable materials, which could provide long-term alternatives to currently dominant FR4. These include substrates and technologies by JIVA, SYTech, VTT, and In2Tec.

Action currently being undertaken by many well-known electronics manufacturers to improve the sustainability and efficiency of their products is also explored. These include Samsung, TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and Intel, among many others. This includes water management strategies for semiconductor manufacturing, with over 500 billion liters of water used annually by the industry.

Thomas Bithell, Technology Analyst and author of this report, explains: "Barriers to sustainable electronics remain, such as capital costs and the complexity of the integration of new methods into existing manufacturing techniques. A key driver for green electronics will be legislation, which is described in detail in the report. This includes new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and digital product passports (DPP) legislation coming into effect in Europe. Existing and upcoming legislation in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region is also described. Whilst 90% of PCBs are manufactured in the APAC region, the electronics supply chain flows globally, resulting in localized legislation having a global impact. As emissions from the electronics manufacturing industry grows, action to adopt sustainable electronics manufacturing is vital."

To find out more about this new IDTechEx report, including downloadable sample pages, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/SustainableElectronics.

SOURCE: IDTechEx

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A.Anderson--AT