Siemens AG, a technology company, and Intel Corporation, one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on driving digitalization and sustainability of microelectronics manufacturing. The companies will focus on advancing future manufacturing efforts, evolving factory operations and cybersecurity, and supporting a resilient global industry ecosystem.
“Semiconductors are the lifeblood of our modern economies. Few things run without chips. Therefore, we’re proud to collaborate with Intel to quickly advance semiconductor production. Siemens will bring its entire cutting-edge portfolio of IoT-enabled hardware and software and electrical equipment to this collaboration,” said Cedrik Neike, CEO of Digital Industries and member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG. “Our joint efforts will contribute to achieving global sustainability goals.”
The MoU identifies key areas of collaboration to explore a variety of initiatives, including optimizing energy management and addressing carbon footprints across the value chain. For instance, the collaboration will explore use of “digital twins” of complex, highly capital-intensive manufacturing facilities to standardize solutions where every percentage of efficiency gained is meaningful.
The collaboration will also explore minimizing energy use through advanced modeling of natural resources and environmental footprints across the value chain. To gain more information on product-related emissions, Intel will explore product- and supply chain-related modeling solutions with Siemens that drive data-based insights and help the industry accelerate progress in reducing its collective footprint.
“The world needs a more globally balanced, sustainable and resilient semiconductor supply chain to meet the increasing demand for chips,” said Keyvan Esfarjani, executive vice president and chief global operations officer at Intel. “We are excited to build upon Intel’s advanced manufacturing capabilities by expanding our collaboration with Siemens to explore new areas where we can utilize Siemens’ portfolio of automation solutions to enhance efficiency and sustainability in semiconductor infrastructure, facilities and factory operations. This MoU will benefit regional and global industry value chains.”
Sustainable practices across the entire semiconductor life cycle, including design, manufacturing, operation, efficiency and recycling, are critical for meeting growing demand for powerful, sustainable chips. Technology has the power to accelerate solutions to reduce computing-related climate impacts across the technology industry and the rest of the global economy. Automation and digitalization hold the key to addressing the challenges as the industry drives toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. By combining their strengths and expertise, Siemens and Intel are poised to lead the way in driving positive change.