Jean-Louis CHAMPSEIX, VP, Head of Corporate Sustainability, highlights " Sustainability has been a guiding principle in STMicroelectronics" and "How Semiconductors Contribute to Green and Low Carbon"

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www.eletimes.com, May. 22, 2023 – 

ST addresses twofold imperatives – i.e. making technology itself more sustainable, and using technology to become more sustainable. ST is one of the largest orchestrators of technology among the semiconductor players in the world. ST understands the vast promise that the technology can make, and also the need to eliminate the hazards of its wide-scale use. ST knows fully well that technology plays pivotal role in making the world more sustainable. Jean-Louis CHAMPSEIX, Group VP, Head of Corporate Sustainability, STMicroelectronics, in a chat with ELE Times, talks about 'how Semiconductors contribute to Green and Low Carbon'. Excerpts.

Jean-Louis CHAMPSEIX, Group VP, Head of Corporate Sustainability, STMicroelectronics

ELE Times: How does IC technology like 5G, edge computing, power devices and others enable green, low carbon economy and society? Please elaborate on ST's this strategy on green and low carbon strategy?

Jean-Louis CHAMPSEIX: Sustainability has been a guiding principle in ST since the early 1990s. Today, it is integrated into every part of our business. We bring innovative solutions to environmental and social challenges. As one concrete example among many, we launched our Sustainable Technology program in 2011. It implements a global approach to ensure we take sustainability into consideration when we develop new products. This creates value for our company, our customers, and society in general. Our Sustainable Technology program is a unique product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to semiconductors. This approach is integrated in our product and technology development and covers chip life cycle from cradle to grave. LCA is performed in term of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as water and water eutrophication, for example.

In ST, we create products for a sustainable world, in a sustainable way. We are convinced that technology can play a key role to help solve environmental, social, and societal challenges. We, therefore, believe in developing responsible products that enhance quality of life or user experience while minimizing environmental impact.

In general, power devices with better conversion efficiency (i.e. that consume less energy) help enormously in moving to a low carbon economy. The impact can be seen in mobility (hybrid and electrical cars), infrastructure (lower power consumption, better efficiency in transmitting RF signals), and in general, in all applications where power devices are used. Efficiency in power conversion is critical in the deployment and adoption of new energies, including solar and battery-powered applications.

In enabling the move to 5G and other low latency, high throughput communication systems, these support remote meeting/activities and, as a consequence, save trips by car, plane, etc.

ST for many years has targeted electric mobility, power and energy, and the Internet of Things and connectivity, which contribute to the growth and sustainability of smart cities smart buildings, and smart industry. Our efforts include enabling and better utilizing renewable energy and smart grid. These are the main drivers of our growth, which allow us to sustain our performance across market cycles.

ELE Times: The industry is facing a downturn in the semiconductor market cycle. What are the green and low carbon initiatives taken by ST's that are likely help the semiconductor industry?

Jean-Louis CHAMPSEIX: ST contributes to the shift from traditional cars powered by internal combustion engines to smarter, greener mobility solutions. ST's car electrification solutions enable makers to build better, more affordable electric vehicles that allow drivers to reduce air pollution and mitigate global climate change.

A second key driver to support decarbonization is related to energy, and especially renewable energy. We contribute to the transition to greener energy sources with high-power, high-efficiency power components that lower loss in energy conversion in solar panels, wind turbines, and smart grids using wide bandgap semiconductor technologies like Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN).

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