Infineon to Become a Carbon-Neutral Company

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

February 20, 2020

News

Infineon to Become a Carbon-Neutral Company

The company presented its plans at its Annual General Meeting in Munich, making an active contribution to reducing CO2 worldwide and achieving the targets defined in the Paris Climate Agreement.

According to Infineon Technologies AG, the company will become carbon-neutral by 2030. Their plans were presented at its Annual General Meeting in Munich. Infineon is making an active contribution to reducing CO 2 worldwide and achieving the targets defined in the Paris Climate Agreement. The objective relates to its own greenhouse gas footprint and includes not only all direct emissions, but also indirect emissions from electricity and heat production. According to the company, emissions are to be cut by 70 percent over the 2019 levels by 2025.

Energy efficiency and reducing CO 2 emissions have been core elements of Infineon’s business model. Through the use of its products and solutions by the customers of Infineon, 40 times more CO 2 can currently be avoided than is generated during production. With its goal of going carbon neutral, the company is taking the next strategic step to fulfill its own mission.

In order to achieve the targets, Infineon is committed to avoiding direct emissions and reducing the energy it needs for its plants and processes. Further expansion of its energy efficiency program and efforts aimed at smart exhaust air treatment will play a key part in that. They will make a contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The company plans to compensate for unavoidable emissions by purchasing green electricity with guarantees of origin. Emissions will also be compensated to a smaller part by certificates that combine development support and CO 2 abatement.

According to a global comparison of companies in the industry by the World Semiconductor Council, Infineon’s frontend production sites use around 52 percent less electricity per square centimeter of processed wafer surface than the average for all manufacturers. Moreover, the company already reduces its total carbon footprint by one-third thanks to smart exhaust air treatment concepts. It has invested around €50 million in this voluntary measure to cut emissions to date.

Added value through Infineon products and solutions

Infineon’s climate strategy is founded on two pillars: continuous reduction in its own emissions and the active contribution Infineon and its innovative products and solutions make to climate protection due to better resource management.

With its products, Infineon delivers energy-efficient solutions and promotes the development of eco-friendly applications in areas of power generation, distribution and consumption. The biggest lever is to save energy and so use it more and more efficiently. Infineon’s products and solutions are a key element of wind turbines and photovoltaic systems. They help increase the efficiency of large industrial plants and consumer goods, or supply the components needed for clean and smart mobility. All in all, products and solutions from Infineon helped reduce emissions by a net total of 54 million tons of CO 2 equivalent last fiscal year, after deducting its own footprint. That corresponds to the average annual power consumption of 80 million inhabitants in Europe or the population of Europe’s ten largest cities.

For more information, visit: https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/about-infineon/press/press-releases/2020/INFXX202002-030.html

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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