The semiconductor equipment industry is in a period of strong growth, according to the Star Daily on June 21st.

According to a SEMI report, with the expansion of production capacity, new wafer factory projects, and the high demand for advanced technology and solutions in the front-end and back-end, total global semiconductor equipment sales are expected to reach a new high of $124 billion by 2025. Especially in China, which achieved a year-on-year growth rate of 28.3% in semiconductor equipment sales in mainland China compared to the global decline in semiconductor sales last year. With the rapid increase in demand for AI GPUs, there is also an expected market for advanced packaging equipment of over 60 billion yuan.

The rapidly expanding market has also posed new development requirements. In addition to improving the domestic semiconductor equipment design and manufacturing capabilities, to ensure the safe and stable supply chain of the industry chain, the green development of the semiconductor equipment industry is also a high priority.

A large amount of chemicals are involved in semiconductor manufacturing. Among them, there is a material called PFAS, which has a huge amount of usage and is difficult to replace. For example, cooling agents containing PFAS components are indispensable in the temperature control of semiconductor dry etching equipment; according to the "PFAS Application White Paper for Semiconductor Industry", PFAS is used in various applications in the semiconductor supply chain (including complex tools required for chip manufacturing), numerous process steps in wafer factories, and packaging and assembly processes.

However, PFAS is also a notorious toxic substance, and its persistence, long-distance migration and bioaccumulation further deepen the huge environmental and human health risks it may pose. A report by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry showed that PFAS interferes with hormones and other basic bodily functions once it enters the body. Long-term exposure to PFAS, even at low levels, may cause serious health problems, including cancers, infertility, birth defects, immune system disorders, etc.

The "EHS Guidelines for Semiconductor and Other Electronics Manufacturing Industry" shows that the environmental issues involved in semiconductor and other electronic product manufacturing projects mainly include the use and waste management of hazardous substances, emissions of air pollutants, wastewater, energy use, and general process upgrades.

In the face of the huge environmental challenges brought about by the industry's rapid growth, some market participants have started to explore.

The above "EHS Guidelines" show that most cleaning and lithography processes in the fight against drying, developing and corrosion may release volatile organic compounds. Under normal circumstances, volatile organic compound emissions can be absorbed and recovered by activated carbon systems and/or treated by thermal oxidizers.

According to a report by Deloitte, the manufacture of semiconductors produces a large amount of waste gas, wastewater, and waste materials. Therefore, semiconductor companies should reduce energy consumption and waste generation by optimizing production processes and using energy-saving equipment and tools, thereby reducing carbon emissions.

Specific case analysis of companies listed on the Star market.

Specifically, some domestic semiconductor equipment companies have already made their own efforts in environmental compliance and the reduction of harmful substances.

Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of semiconductor equipment, and generates revenue and profits by selling etching equipment and MOCVD equipment to downstream semiconductor product manufacturers such as integrated circuits, LED epitaxial wafers, advanced packaging, and MEMS, and providing accessories and services.

In terms of waste management and emissions of harmful substances, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China mainly collects and manages various types of waste. For hazardous waste and general industrial solid waste generated in production and research and development processes, it entrusts third parties with disposal qualifications for compliance disposal, and tracks the entire process. For various chemicals used in the research and development and production processes, the company implements full lifecycle management of chemicals from procurement, transportation, storage, use, and scrapping, achieving full-process and all-round control. According to Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China's annual report, the total waste treatment costs during the reporting period amounted to 43,200 yuan.

In terms of gas management, the company selects waste gas treatment facilities with higher processing efficiency for different waste gas sources, fully identifies various gas characteristic pollutants, and reduces emissions of pollutant substances. At the same time, through regular environmental monitoring, analysis of treatment effects, and emergency response measures, the company can effectively control the emissions of waste gas into the environment and achieve standardized emissions.

It also conducts research and development of environmental protection equipment through its subsidiary, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China Huichuang. In recent years, based on industry development needs, it has developed large-scale VOC purification equipment for industrial use, local exhaust gas treatment equipment (Local Scrubber) and other environmental protection equipment, which are widely used in waste gas treatment produced during the production and manufacturing processes of the semiconductor and integrated circuit, epitaxial wafer, and panel display industries in China to improve the working environment of clean rooms.

In terms of hazardous waste management, in 2023, Advanced Micro-fabrication Equipment Inc. China generated 23 tons of hazardous waste, all of which have been entrusted to third-party compliant disposal companies with the necessary qualifications.

In addition, Advanced Micro-fabrication Equipment Inc. China has evaluated the EHS management of its suppliers and extended its corresponding environmental compliance arrangements upstream in the industry chain. According to the "Advanced Micro Supplier EHS Evaluation Form", Advanced Micro has conducted online evaluations of EHS management status among 12 key suppliers and on-site evaluations among five suppliers, covering environmental protection, safety, occupational health, chemical management, energy conservation and emissions reduction, etc. Based on this, Advanced Micro has formulated and published the "Supplier EHS Evaluation Operations Guidebook," to assist suppliers in establishing EHS evaluation plans, carrying out EHS evaluations, formulating improvement plans based on evaluation results, and helping suppliers establish and improve their own EHS management systems, actively promoting suppliers to undertake corporate social responsibility.

Another semiconductor equipment manufacturer, Shanghai Summi, also manages solid waste appropriately. In terms of wastewater management, the company's 2023 annual report shows that the annual maintenance and consumable replacement cost of the Chuan Sha recycled water system was 80,000 yuan, and the operating electricity cost of the equipment system was 280,000 yuan. It was stated that when the company is engaged in research and development work, there are cases where a small amount of pollutants is generated. The collected wastewater containing fluorine, acid, alkali and other pollutants is uniformly collected and entrusted to third-party companies with the necessary qualifications for transportation and disposal. In terms of exhaust gas treatment, the company has built one exhaust gas treatment facility, which is used to treat exhaust gases (including acidic gases, alkaline gases and organic gases) produced by the company's R&D laboratory. The exhaust gases generated in the R&D process are collected in closed pipelines and uniformly treated by the EVO dry gas-phase chemical filtration device. After meeting the standard, they are discharged. The design treatment capacity is 15,000 cubic meters per hour. Overall, domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturers have made initial explorations and efforts in environmental compliance and harmful substance reduction while improving their technical and product capabilities. As the world's largest semiconductor consumer market, Mainland China is currently accelerating the entry of domestic substitutes. Domestic semiconductor equipment has shown tremendous development potential in the global market. In the future, domestic semiconductor manufacturers will face higher environmental compliance requirements and may cause environmental and human health effects during the production process, which should receive greater attention.

In terms of exhaust gas treatment, the company has one exhaust gas treatment facility, which is used to treat the exhaust gases (including acidic gases, alkaline gases and organic gases) produced by the company's R&D laboratory. The exhaust gases generated in the R&D process are collected in closed pipelines and treated uniformly by the EVO dry gas-phase chemical filtration device. After meeting the standards, they are discharged. The design treatment capacity is 15,000 cubic meters per hour.

Generally speaking, domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturers have made initial explorations and efforts in environmental compliance and harmful substance reduction while improving their technical and product capabilities. As the world's largest semiconductor consumer market, China is currently accelerating the entry of domestic substitutes. Domestic semiconductor equipment has shown tremendous development potential in the global market. In the future, domestic semiconductor manufacturers will face higher environmental compliance requirements and may cause environmental and human health effects during the production process, which should receive greater attention.