Samsung Sounds Alarm Over Water Stress In Semiconductor Design

Samsung Semiconductor is concerned about the future availability of water, which is necessary for making chips. While our planet is mostly water, Samsung points out that only about one percent of it is available for daily use. To make matters worse, that amount of available water is shrinking, due to what Samsung says are water stresses. Some of these stresses include climate change and environmental pollution. The company’s goal is to “keep water withdrawal to 2021 levels in 2030.”

“In various stages of semiconductor manufacturing processes, a significant amount of water is utilized, especially in the process of wafer cleaning where highly purified ultrapure water is employed,” says Samsung. Water is so vital that it’s viewed as the semiconductor industry’s “lifeblood.” According to the company the amount of water used on a daily basis at a manufacturing plant can reach tens of thousands of tons.


Samsung is preparing itself for a world where they might not have the same access to such a high amount of water, while continuing to grow its business. It’s banking on two solutions for the future. The first is sewage water reuse, signing a memorandum of understanding with several Korean cities for access to industrial water. The second is membrane technology that will help filtrate the industrial water into the pure water that Samsung needs for its processes.

It's important that Samsung is taking these steps as the chips they make have become critical for the modern economy. Hopefully, industry peers are taking a close look at what Samsung is doing, and are working on their own plans to deal with a future where water may not be easy to come by.