Schneider Electric Partners with Intel and Applied Materials to Help Decarbonize the Semiconductor Value Chain

Schneider Electric launched Catalyze, a new partnership program aimed at helping to accelerate access to renewable energy across the global semiconductor value chain. Catalyze is a program of collaboration among key semiconductor and technology industry leaders to help address the supply chain emissions within their industry. Intel and Applied Materials are the inaugural corporate sponsors of the Catalyze program. Together with Schneider Electric, the companies will encourage suppliers from throughout the semiconductor industry ecosystem to join the Catalyze program and help to accelerate the value chain’s transition to renewable energy and a lower carbon future.

As the global demand for semiconductors in consumer and commercial products increases, the carbon footprint continues to grow, making it imperative for semiconductor industry leaders to collaborate to drive greater use of renewable energy and achieve a more sustainable path to growth. The shared goal of the Catalyze participants will be to encourage the industry’s thousands of suppliers to take bold climate action through decarbonization. This is a challenging task, due to the complexity of the value chain, data availability and reliability, and the difficulties in defining the boundaries of such emissions.

The Catalyze program strives to:

• Combine energy purchasing power across the semiconductor value chain to help accelerate the deployment of renewable energy projects
• Provide suppliers, who may not have the capability on their own, with the opportunity to participate in the market for utility-scale power purchase agreements (PPAs)
• Increase awareness of the availability of renewable energy in specific global regions where the semiconductor value chain is operational, to increase greater adoption
• Assist suppliers who have made commitments to reduce their carbon emissions and/or sign on to this program
• Educate companies in the semiconductor value chain about the importance of developing operational models to use in their supply chain programs to help close net-zero ambition gaps
• Engage thousands of suppliers simultaneously through digital technology platforms to help drive swifter and more measurable actions in their supply chain decarbonization
• Help to create a path for the industry to drive definitive next steps.

Sponsoring companies will collaborate on the development of the program, including identifying focus areas and suppliers as well as encouraging other semiconductor companies to consider the program for their own value chains. The program will initially focus on suppliers with energy load in specific markets in the semiconductor value chain where renewable energy is currently available, with the intention to expand globally where specific interest and renewable energy market opportunities align.