Intel achieves net-positive water waste in 3 countries

On its quest for net-zero, US tech giant Intel claims to be returning more freshwater to communities than it uses for its manufacturing in the US, Costa Rica and India.

The firm reportedly saw a 114% increase in the last two years in the volume of water it saved, partially through better treatment facilities and more efficient production that uses fewer resources.

Conserving water is vital to reduce shortages, particularly in countries most at risk of droughts, which could displace communities and lead to thousands, if not millions, of deaths as the effect of climate change become more severe.

This brings the company in line with one of the goals of its RISE strategy, which is set to outline its transition to becoming more sustainable, while also allowing other businesses to follow suit.

Industry Europe spoke with Intel's head of energy Mike Bates a few months ago, where he outlined this strategy and how the firm was working towards the technologies that could power the energy transition.

Read more: EXCLUSIVE: How tech will drive the green transition - interview with Intel

“More than 10 years ago, we began to explore how we could better understand and reduce our water footprint. Five years ago, we set a public goal to restore 100% of our consumption", Intel's chief sustainability officer Todd Brady said.

Brady claims Intel is the first tech giant to set a "countrywide water restoration goal" - with it hoping to become entirely net-positive in its water use by 2030 to reduce the impact on local watersheds and support "water resources that server communities".

“It’s exciting to share that we’ve reached net positive water in three countries through strong partnerships with environmental nonprofits and local governments and our water stewardship investments. We are not stopping here – now we are focused on reaching net positive water in the remaining locations where we operate", he added.

Last year, Intel states it used 16 billion gallons of freshwater, reclaimed water and desalinated water for its manufacturing, reportedly returning 13 billion to local communities.

Water is used for basically everything conceivable regarding manufacturing: from the production of semiconductors, use in evaporative cooling towers or manufacturing tools that deliver new technologies. And it is used in massive quantities.

However, The Register reports the 99% return figure that Intel claims may be slightly skewed by higher reclamation rates in countries such as India, where Intel reports 394% reclamation, compared to Vietnam's 41%. It also reports the company's operations in Arizona created 15,000 tonnes of wastewater in the first three months of 2021 - 60% of which was considered hazardous.

Read more: Intel launches first phase of €80bn EU chip plan

The firm has also planned to build two chip fabs in Arizona, a state currently in River7th year of long-term drought. They feed into the Colorado River, which has reported low water in recent years.

Regardless, the firm has several years in order to balance out the water reclamation in other countries. Net-positive water use in the US could also allow for plants like those in Arizona to run without affecting local communities, which are already being affected by drought.

Intel does not go into detail about the specifics of water reclamation, only that it has better treatment facilities and better production.

Wastewater can be reused in many ways, ranging from irrigation, use in agriculture, purification into drinking water or use in processing and cooling systems. Some systems even clean sewage and integrate it with waterways and river systems.

In Arizona, the firm claims it restored 890 million gallons to the watershed in 2021 alone.

"The projects vary, from traditional conservation to a focus on shifting local economies in ways that will have a long-term impact", Intel said in a statement.

A scheme backed by Intel also funded local farmers to change up their crops to barley during the summer months, which required less irrigation and can be harvested earlier. It also invested in a local malt house to reduce operation costs and allow for malted barley to be sent to brewers.

It can be assumed due to the timings that this would not affect local food production, but it could be another potential issue to be raised.

Intel has contributed to an urban restoration project in Bengaluru, India. Urban development in the area has led to water shortages and groundwater depletion and the firm is funding two restoration projects that could restore more than 100 million gallons of water each year to local supplies, most notably nearby lakes Dyavasandra and Nanjapura.

Read more: Tomatoes could help battle droughts in California

The firm states there "could be positives" from its restoration endeavours, but they are "not measurable".

Ultimately, the firm hopes this net-positive water use will allow it to ramp up production in Arizona, Ohio and Europe without concerns over causing droughts in local areas.

2030 is still several years away, which could allow for hitches in the system to be fixed. On the surface, the team appear to be making progress rapidly.

The firm is still miles ahead of the competition, although it has been working with other companies to allow them to steward water use, the effects of which could be seen globally.

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