EUV lithography machine consumes a lot of energy. TSMC will eat 12% of Taiwan's electricity in 3 years.

CTOnews.com, August 26, according to Bloomberg, each of ASML's new generation EUV lithography machines consumes about 1 million watts of power, about 10 times that of previous generations of devices. Chip manufacturers such as Samsung and TSMC, which rely on this device to produce chips, consume huge energy, and the chip industry may become an important stumbling block to reducing global carbon emissions.

According to the report, TSMC has the largest number of 80 EUV devices in the industry and is installing new-generation devices. It is expected to account for 12.5% of the overall energy consumption in Taiwan Province of China in 2025, more than double the 6% in 2020. In addition to TSMC, Micron also uses at least one EUV device in Taiwan. Charles Shum, an analyst at Bloomberg, estimates that within three years, 1/4 of chip manufacturing in Taiwan will need EUV equipment.

CTOnews.com learned that the environmental impact of TSMC production mainly depends on the source of power generation. Industry insiders point out that Taiwan has many chip factories that need to run such energy-intensive equipment, making renewable energy important and urgent, but Taiwan is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. It is reported that Taiwan has set a target in 2016 that 20% of its electricity will come from renewable energy by 2025. However, according to the latest energy review in July, only 6 per cent of electricity came from renewable sources by the end of 2021, prompting it to lower its 2025 target to 15 per cent.

Overall, although there is an opportunity to find a more environmentally friendly way to make chips, no manufacturer is willing to slow down.