The new 2nm factory will not be a gift to the planet

Dedicated to the production of future chips engraved at 2 nm, only one of TSMC’s new plants may require two power plants … in addition to endless water requirements.

Switching to 2nm and increased chip production at TSMC is on track to have a significant impact on the environment. // Source: Wikimedia

There is competition for energy and energy savings in our electronic devices … and there are industrial efforts to produce more efficient and economical chips. Yes DSMC Currently producing processors mainly engraved at 7 and 5 nm, the Taiwanese company, like its competitors, is improving its working processes to accommodate more transistors in the SoCs of our smartphones, but the undeniable achievement of chips engineering from our computer consoles or our game consoles, but also the environment One that inevitably goes hand in hand with a business that is occupying the system.

TSMC therefore plans to build two new production sites Its future engraving at 2 nm. The first, already approved by Taiwanese authorities, will rise from the ground near the city of Hsinchu. The second, which does not yet have all the necessary recognitions, is to see daylight in Taichung. Due to their enormous water and electricity requirements, both can represent a dual environmental catastrophe.

The right bad requirements for water and electricity …

WCCFTech TSMC’s plan to build a second 2nm plant prompted the mayor of Taichung City (located on the west coast of Taiwan) to request Lin Qifeng to install two separate gas-fired power plants to manage the power consumption. According to him, the 3nm plant recently built by TSMC in Nanke will already use 7 billion kWh per year. For a factory dedicated to engraving 2nm processors, power consumption may be even more important.

The new site and its enormous energy requirements are of concern to local authorities in Taichung, whose construction fears a representational impact from an environmental perspective, but its impact on the health of residents in the region. . At the site, a group says they have already noticed an increase in the number of cancers, especially in women. Local authorities now want TSMC, which already has two factories in Taichung, to prepare documents to more accurately assess the impact of this new 2nm plant on the environment and population.

As mentioned WCCFTech, These problems are added to the water supply. In addition to the tremendous energy requirements, TSMC’s factories may need 100,000 cubic meters of water a day to complete the production of their chips. Remember the beginning of the year Taiwan was hit by severe water shortages in the wake of the drought.

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