SK Hynix announced on the 25th that it has developed a new low-power pump capable of reducing power consumption by about 40%.
According to SK Hynix's newsroom on the same day, SK Hynix plans to fully introduce the new low-power pumps at the M15X fab, a semiconductor manufacturing facility currently under construction, and the Yongin cluster. The pumps create a high vacuum environment to remove impurities during the semiconductor process, which plays a crucial role in determining the quality and yield of the semiconductors. The actual power used to operate the pumps accounts for about 15% of the total power consumption of the fab.
Earlier, SK Hynix launched a 'Carbon Management Committee' consisting of technical personnel from research, manufacturing, facilities, environment, and purchasing sectors in 2022, and it is promoting greenhouse gas emission reduction activities through 12 subcommittees aimed at achieving net zero by 2050. Among these, the subcommittee for low-power pump introduction developed the new low-power pump through changes in motors, materials, structures, and the introduction of new architectures.
SK Hynix explained that it began evaluating the introduction of new low-power pumps from the first quarter and has been introducing them into its existing operating fabs through new investments starting from the third quarter. The company plans to expand the introduction of new low-power pumps in the future. Additionally, it has derived evaluation results showing that reducing the pump capacity in the etching process from the existing 30,000L to 20,000L does not significantly affect the quality and yield of the semiconductors, and it is maximizing the low-power effect through the introduction of low-power pumps in the new investments in the etching process that began in the third quarter, while also reducing pump capacity.
In the case of the new fab currently under construction, estimating power consumption based on the main process standards of the existing operating M14 fab, it can reduce power consumption by about 39.7% compared to the existing pump usage.
A representative from SK Hynix said, "The reduction in power consumption will ultimately lead to lower carbon emissions from electricity production, which will significantly contribute to the reduction of Scope 2 emissions," and noted, "In addition to carbon emission reductions, we will also be able to save on investment expenses, repair expenses, and operating expenses."
Efforts are also underway to reduce power consumption by lowering the rotational speed (RPM) of the existing operating pumps. A representative from SK Hynix stated, "If the speed reduction of the pumps is applied across the entire M15 and M16 etching process once the process evaluation is completed, average power usage is expected to decrease by about 16.7%," and added, "This will contribute not only to cost savings for power usage but also to carbon emission reductions."