Sustainable semiconductor manufacturing - too little too late or Europe protectionism?

58 companies and research organisations across Europe have come together in a €55m programme to boost the sustainability of producing semiconductor devices.

www.eenewseurope.com, Jun. 16, 2025 – 

From energy and water use to the gases and resists, the Genesis programme is aiming to make chip production more sustainable, not just in Europe but globally.

However is Europe just lagging behind and looking to put up regulatory barriers even as it wants to encourage chip makers to set up in the region?

"Genesis is addressing the full manufacturing scheme from the materials to the end result," Lauren Pain, the coordinator at CEA-Leti in Grenoble tells eeNews Europe.

"I prefer to look at the environmental impact because when you are talking about sustainability there are always side effects. Of course we are addressing Scope 1, the direct emissions, but we also want to minimise the waste to optimise the use of the materials and introduce reuse and recycling of valuable materials."

The consortium includes chip makers STMicroelectronics, Bosch, GlobalFoundries, Intel, Infineon and IBM and NXP Semiconductor and even Leonardo in Italy, which as a laser chip fab outside Tucson, Arizona.

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