As global chip manufacturing expands rapidly, industry leaders emphasise the need for innovative methods to reduce water and energy use, integrating circularity and efficiency to ensure supply chain resilience and environmental sustainability.
Semiconductor manufacturing’s rapid advance is colliding with hard limits in energy and water resources, forcing fabs and equipment suppliers to reframe production priorities around conservation, reuse and operational efficiency. Ryan Zrno, chief executive of JST, argues that addressing water and energy demands in wet processing and cleanroom systems is now central to sustaining both output and supply‑chain resilience.
Water is the industry’s most conspicuous constraint. The sector already consumes volumes comparable to a major city, S&P Global estimated chipmakers use as much water as Hong Kong, and ultrapure water demands are acute because rinsing and contamination control tolerate no compromise. Industry analysis from Deloitte notes the sector’s huge process dependence on water, with most usage tied to manufacture, and highlights that recycling rates vary widely but can be high: some Taiwanese operations average roughly 85% reuse. NIST guidance for CHIPS‑funded projects underscores the same priorities, reduce, recycle and treat process wastewater wherever feasible, and pursue dry alternatives to wet steps where possible.
JST reports it has cut water use by around 50% through changes in wet bench design, single‑wafer processing, tighter chemical control and sensor‑driven automation, and it is targeting a 75% reduction over time. According to the company, single‑wafer benches and lower chemical concentrations not only shrink rinse volumes but also simplify neutralisation and reintegration of effluents into deionised water systems. JST also points to smaller tool footprints, robotics and improved flow sequencing as levers to reduce per‑wafer water consumption while raising throughput.
Those device‑level and tool‑level measures sit alongside broader plant‑scale interventions. TSMC has rolled out an EUV Dynamic Energy Saving Programme that, the company says, cut peak power usage of some EUV scanners by 44% in pilot fabs and is expected to deliver hundreds of millions of kilowatt‑hours in savings by 2030 through adaptive power scaling and idle‑state management. Separately, TSMC is constructing a large industrial reclamation water plant in Phoenix to convert process wastewater into ultrapure water for its Arizona fabs, reflecting a shift toward near‑closed‑loop water systems at major foundries.
Energy and water efficiency are intertwined. JST highlights lower tool exhaust requirements, more efficient heat‑exchange and inverter motor control as ways to reduce cleanroom conditioning loads, improvements that, in turn, ease demand on chilled water and HVAC systems, a significant component of fab energy use. Deloitte’s forecasting analysis also identifies abatement systems and cooling as material water sinks and notes that placing certain scrubbers or abatement units into idle when not processing can cut water for abatement by nearly all of its current draw.
The scale and pace of capacity expansion globally add urgency. Reports indicate China is planning a dramatic ramp in advanced node wafer‑starts to feed domestic AI and compute demand, a push that, if realised, will multiply regional water and power needs even as export controls limit access to some high‑end tools. Rapid growth in advanced manufacturing, whether in Taiwan, the United States or China, magnifies the imperative for equipment and fab designs that are both water‑lean and energy‑efficient.
Operational longevity and circularity in equipment also matter for decarbonisation and resource efficiency. JST stresses modular platforms that extend tool service life and permit incremental upgrades rather than wholesale replacements, reducing embodied emissions and the waste associated with frequent capital turnover. Such approaches can improve return on investment for fab operators while aligning with corporate sustainability targets.
Regulatory and financing pressures are reinforcing these technical trends. Government programmes tied to the CHIPS Act explicitly encourage reduced freshwater demand, improved ultra‑pure water production efficiency and onsite reuse; energy providers and regulators are increasingly offering incentives and rebates for demonstrable efficiency gains, according to JST and industry observers. Meanwhile, corporate buyers and insurers are attentive to water‑risk metrics, an issue flagged in S&P Global work that links water stress to credit‑risk considerations for semiconductor facilities.
For industrial decarbonisation professionals advising fabs and OEMs, the immediate priorities are clear: quantify process‑level water footprints, target single‑wafer and dry‑process substitutions where feasible, deploy sensing and adaptive control to eliminate idle energy and water flows, and design systems for reuse and long asset lives. Achieving the next step change in sustainability will require equipment vendors, fab operators, utilities and regulators to align incentives so low‑water, low‑energy process configurations become the default rather than the exception.
The technological and policy levers now exist to materially reduce the sector’s environmental footprint, but delivering that at the scale of global chip manufacturing will demand coordinated implementation, capital commitment and a willingness to redesign long‑standing wet processes around reuse and efficiency rather than throughput alone.
- https://www.semiconductor-digest.com/reduce-and-reuse-in-the-fab-for-a-more-sustainable-future/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reduce-and-reuse-in-the-fab-for-a-more-sustainable-future – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/china-to-increase-leading-edge-chip-output-by-5x-in-two-years-report-claims-aims-to-lift-7nm-and-5nm-production-to-100-000-wafers-per-month-targeting-half-a-million-monthly-by-2030 – China plans to significantly boost its production of cutting-edge semiconductors, aiming to increase output of 7nm and 5nm chips fivefold—from under 20,000 to 100,000 wafer starts per month—within two years, with a long-term target of reaching 500,000 monthly by 2030. This effort, primarily intended to support the domestic AI industry, faces challenges due to limited access to advanced chipmaking tools from American, Japanese, and European companies amid ongoing export restrictions. Currently, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) is China’s only foundry capable of producing 7nm-class chips and is projected to reach 50,000 wafer starts per month on advanced nodes by 2025, though equipment bottlenecks may slow progress. Hua Hong Semiconductor, historically focused on older technologies, is also entering advanced chip production, supported by Huawei’s expertise. Additionally, other Huawei-affiliated firms are developing pilot lines targeting sub-10nm nodes. UBS estimates China’s 22nm/28nm production capabilities at 30,000–50,000 wafers monthly but anticipates significant growth, possibly reaching up to 160,000 wafer starts per month in advanced node capacity by 2027.
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/tsmc-reduces-peak-power-consumption-of-euv-tools-by-44-percent-company-to-save-190-million-kilowatt-hours-of-electricity-by-2030 – TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, has launched the EUV Dynamic Energy Saving Program to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. As of September 2025, the program has been implemented at its Fabs 15B, 18A, and 18B, with plans to roll it out globally by the end of the year, including future projects like Fab 21 Phase 2 in Arizona. This initiative has already reduced peak power consumption of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools by 44% and is expected to save 190 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity and reduce carbon emissions by 101 kilotons by 2030. The system may employ adaptive power scaling and real-time data sharing to reduce energy usage when machines are idle. TSMC is also considering extending these energy-saving practices to other equipment types, like deep ultraviolet (DUV) scanners. Despite this significant progress, the savings represent a small portion of TSMC’s total energy usage, which reached 25.55 billion kWh in 2024. Nonetheless, the program contributes to TSMC’s long-term sustainability and automation goals without compromising manufacturing quality.
- https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2024/semiconductor-sustainability-forecast.html?id=us%3A2sm%3A3li%3A4diCA176611%3A%3A6di%3A20240119133000%3A%3A12283804731%3A51011678&linkId=260731186 – The global chip industry used 264 billion gallons (about 1 trillion liters) of water in 2019. But although some water is lost to evaporation or other causes, depending on geography and chipmaker, all of that water is not “used”: A major America-headquartered chipmaker used 16 billion gallons of water in 2021 but returned 13 billion gallons of it (over 80%) and doubled their water savings from two years earlier. Chipmakers across Taiwan averaged 85% water recycling between 2016 and 2020. Most water use in the semiconductor industry is for the manufacturing process (76%), but a lot of water is also used for cooling towers (9%) and scrubbers (11%). The biggest part of those scrubbers is in process gas abatement (see next section), which could present significant opportunities for water reduction: Switching the abatement systems to idle mode, when not actively processing, reduces water usage by 98%. Improvements could also be made in reducing both process water and water for cooling.
- https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-incentives-funding-opportunities/environmental-division/water-quality-and-semiconductor – Semiconductor facilities are heavy water users with a typical semiconductor facility using between 2 and 10 million gallons of ultra-pure water per day, which is essential for rinsing of silicon chips during fabrication and ensuring they are free from contaminants. Water demand at semiconductor manufacturing facilities typically falls into five categories. 1. Process Water: Used directly in the manufacturing process. 2. Cooling Water: Used to cool equipment and maintain optimal operating conditions. 3. Abatement Technologies: Used to remove hazardous gases from semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 4. Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) Treatment Losses: Used in the production of ultra-pure water. 5. Non-Industrial Use: General facility operations that include water for kitchens, toilets, and other typical water demand for office buildings. CHIPS projects are encouraged to reduce, recycle, and treat process wastewater to the maximum extent possible. Reductions in water use can be achieved by: Replacing wet processes with dry processes Improving UPW production efficiency Optimizing tools and procedures utilizing UPW Reusing rinse water and other wastewater streams from existing production processes.
- https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/07/the-water-challenge-for-semiconductor-manufacturing-and-big-tech-what-needs-to-be-done/ – The technology we rely on – from cell phones and computers to LED bulbs and cars – cannot function without semiconductors. And semiconductors cannot exist without water – a lot of it. Water is crucial at all stages of semiconductor manufacturing. This heavy reliance – and impact on water – is becoming a critical vulnerability for the fast-growing global chip industry. And that, in turn, exposes the tech companies that need semiconductors to make electronic devices and increasingly, advance their artificial intelligence (AI) technology to significant financial risk. The need for ‘ultrapure water’ This burgeoning demand for chips in the tech industry puts more pressure on already stressed water systems. Semiconductor factories rely on water to cool systems and generate electricity – globally, they are already consuming as much water as Hong Kong, a city of 7.5 million, according to an S&P Global report. But what really drives most of the industry’s thirst for water is its need for ultrapure water that is used to rinse residue from silicon chips during the fabrication process. Ultrapure water, which is thousands of times cleaner than drinking water, is treated through processes such as deionization and reverse osmosis to remove pollutants, minerals and other impurities that can damage chips. It takes roughly 1,400 to 1,600 gallons of municipal water to make 1,000 gallons of ultrapure water. An average chip manufacturing facility today can use 10 million gallons of ultrapure water per day—as much water as is used by 33,000 US households every day. Potential water-related disruptions to operations for TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, could impact the entire global semiconductor supply chain and raise buyers’ prices. In addition to its enormous use of water, chip manufacturing also produces wastewater that contains pollutants – including heavy metals – that can be toxic to aquatic ecosystems and humans.
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/tsmc-building-water-reclamation-plant-for-phoenix-facilities – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has initiated construction of a 15-acre Industrial Reclamation Water Plant at its manufacturing complex in north Phoenix. This facility is designed to support water sustainability by reclaiming and reusing nearly all the water used in its chip production processes. The move is particularly significant given the ongoing megadrought affecting the Colorado River basin and the broader Phoenix area. TSMC’s plant, set to be operational by 2028, will convert industrial wastewater into ultrapure water for cleaning silicon wafers in chip production. The first chip manufacturing facility (fab), operational since late 2024, currently uses 4.75 million gallons of water per day, with 65% of that already being recycled. Once all three fabs are complete, they are expected to consume a total of 16.4 million gallons daily. TSMC emphasizes its commitment to being a responsible corporate neighbor by minimizing its environmental impact, especially regarding water usage.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
7
Notes:
The article discusses semiconductor manufacturing’s challenges with water and energy resources, highlighting JST’s efforts to reduce water usage by 50% through design changes and automation. While similar themes have been covered in recent months, such as TSMC’s water reclamation initiatives, the specific details about JST’s strategies appear to be original. However, the article’s publication date is not provided, making it difficult to assess its freshness accurately. Without a clear publication date, the freshness score is reduced.
Quotes check
Score:
6
Notes:
The article includes direct quotes attributed to Ryan Zrno, CEO of JST, discussing the company’s water reduction efforts. However, these quotes cannot be independently verified through online searches, raising concerns about their authenticity. Without verifiable sources for these quotes, the credibility of the information is uncertain.
Source reliability
Score:
5
Notes:
The article originates from Semiconductor Digest, a niche publication focusing on semiconductor industry news. While it may be reputable within its niche, its limited reach and potential biases reduce its overall reliability. Additionally, the lack of independent verification for the quotes further diminishes the source’s trustworthiness.
Plausibility check
Score:
7
Notes:
The claims about JST’s water reduction strategies are plausible and align with industry trends towards sustainability. However, the absence of independent verification and the inability to confirm the publication date of the article introduce uncertainties regarding the accuracy of these claims.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): FAIL
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
The article presents plausible claims about JST’s water reduction strategies in semiconductor manufacturing. However, the inability to verify the publication date, the lack of independent verification for the quotes, and the limited reliability of the source raise significant concerns about the content’s credibility. Given these issues, the article does not meet the necessary standards for publication.
