𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬. Today, Julia Christina Hess & Anna Semenova published the 1st comprehensive data set on the sector’s climate and environmental impact. Some of the key findings are:
🔹 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱: from 58 326Wh in 2015 to 131 278 GWh in 2023. What is more, five companies accounted for 70% of the total energy consumed over this period (Samsung, TSMC, Intel, SK Hynix and Micron).
🔹𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀. The recent AI boom has greatly accelerated the demand for highly advanced chips deemed essential for machine-learning and data centres (GPUs, CPUs, FGPA, HBM, ASICs).
🔹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆: 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 (𝗥𝗘𝗖𝘀). According to the CSR reports, there has been a substantial growth in energy usage by 125% between 2015 and 2023.
🔹𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁. Our analysis shows that chip companies report standardized emissions in inconsistent ways, such as per wafer, per unit product, per sales revenue, or aggregated values, making direct comparisons difficult.
🔗 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: https://lnkd.in/dCrK8xr8