Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has broken ground on a 15-acre water reclamation plant to increase water recycling at its production site in north Phoenix.
The Industrial Reclamation Water Plant is expected to become operational in 2028 and will have an initial water recycling rate of 85%. The goal is to reach up to 90%. The company’s current in-house water resource center has a 65% efficiency rate and converts industrial wastewater for use in systems supporting the company’s operations.
Water from the IRWP will convert wastewater from TSMC’s fab sites to the ultra-pure quality necessary for chipmaking.
The company has already implemented a water conservation strategy in line with the United Nations’ sustainability goals. It is working to achieve a recycling rate of more than 65% for its facilities worldwide.
Company officials say TSMC’s first fab uses 4.75 million gallons of water/day. When the IRWP reaches a 90% recycling rate, the fab’s water demand will drop to fewer than 1.2 million gallons/day. Fab 2 will consume 5.7 million gallons.
When Fabs 1, 2 and 3 are all operational, the demand will be 17.2 million gallons/day, but TSMC’s existing conservation efforts and the IRWP will greatly reduce the supply necessary from the City of Phoenix, officials say. (Source)
