Intel committed Wednesday to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its global operations by 2040. It extended plans to increase energy efficiency in its products while working with customers on ways to achieve green initiatives industrywide.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the chip giant is already making “exceptional progress” on an earlier-announced program to reach 100% renewable energy and net positive water use across its operations by 2030.
Gelsinger said he is personally motivated by the new 2040 goal as a father, grandfather and a “farm kid who learned early of the importance of respecting and attending to the earth.”
The company estimated it has lowered emissions over the past decade by nearly 75% through sustainable business practices. As part of an interim set of goals for 2030, Intel is investing $300 million in energy conservation at facilities and has launched a research initiative to find greener chemicals to lessen global warming potential.
The greater impact of the 2040 pledge could come from Intel’s leadership across the chip and broader tech industry. In one example, it is working with Dell on its Concept Luna prototype to lower emissions by 30% related to reference platform designs.
Intel highlighted work with service providers and data center cloud operators to set up pilots for liquid immersion cooling. Submer of Barcelona provides immersion cooling pods for use in data centers that create little noise and help transfer heat to use in homes and businesses. A partnership with Intel allows Submer to validate an immersive colling system “that saves energy while providing the ability to capture and reuse the subsequent thermal heat,” Submer CEO Daniel Pope said in a statement.
Japan’s KDDI has reduced power consumption by 20% in a trial project at a 5G data center byf using Xeon Scalable processors and Intel software for power management and AI.
Intel also said it is innovating the use of bio-based printed circuit boards to help separate components in recycling of components and working to reduce the size of main boards with layout and small size of components.
Nearly all companies in the chip industry have set goals similar to Intel’s “but perhaps not quite as aggressively,” said Jack Gold, an industry analyst a J. Gold Associates.
Gold said it will easier for Intel to reduce the power needed in its products used in PCs and servers than to achieve goals related to Intel’s manufacturing operations. “Chip making uses a lot of electricity, but also a large amount and number of chemicals that also have to be manufactured and obtained from suppliers,” Gold said.
Intel is projecting a near-20 year window to attain its central goal, Gold noted. “It will take a good deal of time to find enough renewable energy for their own plants as well as reduce the greenhouse effect from all the chemicals they use in their processing,” he added. “It’s a great goal, but we’ll have to see how realistic it becomes over the next several years as not everything is within Intel’s control.”
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