Department of Energy Announces New Signatories to Semiconductor Efficiency Pledge

Department of Energy Announces New Signatories to Semiconductor Efficiency Pledge 

More than 60 organizations have committed to making semiconductor applications, including data centers, more energy efficient.

Google, Vital Integration of Environmental Electronics, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, and the Florida Semiconductor Institute signed a pledge to improve the energy efficiency of semiconductors. Drafted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Energy Efficiency Scaling for 2 Decades (EES2) pledge now has 65 signatories, including Google, Intel, Microsoft, Micron, Synopsys, ARM, AMD, and other leading organizations in government, academia, and high-technology industries. These signatories will work together to reduce energy consumption from rapidly expanding semiconductor applications, such as industrial-scale data centers. 

“From transportation to finance to healthcare to national defense, every pillar of the modern world relies on semiconductor technology,” said Dr. Geraldine Richmond, Under Secretary for Science and Innovation. “DOE is thrilled to work with a growing list of partners who share our commitment to the sustainability of this indispensable industry. Together, we can achieve the increased energy efficiencies in computer architectures and data centers needed now, and for decades to come.”

“We're committed to developing and deploying artificial intelligence to help address the challenge posed by climate change,” said Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google. “As we look to the future, it's essential that the technology industry build on our longstanding focus on improving energy efficiency at all levels of the value chain, including at the materials and hardware level.”

“By supporting EES2 and roadmapping efforts, we can help to ensure that the benefits of sustainable microelectronics education are accessible to all, regardless of background or circumstance,” said Dr. Velveth Klee, Applied Science Professor at Los Angeles Technical-Trade College. “As we strive for a more sustainable future, the involvement of community college is essential for fostering a diverse and skilled workforce equipped to address the challenges ahead.”

Semiconductive materials, such as silicon, are used to construct vital components of smartphones, computers, solar cells, electric vehicles, and many other products that millions of Americans use daily. Over the last 30 years, energy efficiency improvements in the semiconductor industry have fallen out of pace with the surging global demand for computing and artificial intelligence technologies. As a result, semiconductor applications are now the fastest-growing electricity consumers and could soon account for the largest share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with electricity use. In 2021, the Semiconductor Research Corporation predicted that computing would consume 20 percent of the energy produced worldwide by 2030. More recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that GHG emissions associated with semiconductors would quadruple within the same timeframe. 

The ultimate goal of the EES2 initiative is to reverse these trends by increasing the energy efficiency of semiconductor applications 1,000-fold over the next 20 years. Through collaboration with stakeholders in industry, academia, and government—including the U.S. National Laboratories—the initiative has established several priorities for the American semiconductor industry, including:

• Reducing semiconductor energy consumption at the material, device, circuit, and architecture scale
• Guiding new technology investments funded through the CHIPS and Science Act
• Expanding and diversifying the future workforce by significantly increasing the pool of STEM students who are passionate about advanced semiconductor technology.

The EES2 initiative is led by DOE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO). Over the last year, AMMTO and its partner organizations have been developing a semiconductor roadmap, which features a comprehensive strategy for improving the efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness of the American semiconductor and related products. The roadmap is scheduled for release for public comment in May. 

To learn more about DOE’s important work in materials and manufacturing innovation, visit the AMMTO homepage.