Apple suppliers face rising energy needs in circuit board production
DigiTimes reports that demand for more complex boards is complicating emissions cuts as Apple requires renewable electricity for its production before 2030.
Manufacturers of printed circuit boards face obstacles to reducing emissions in Apple's supply chain as increasingly sophisticated components require more energy to produce, according to DigiTimes. Demand for boards serving AI and high-performance computing is raising both electricity consumption and water use.
Apple requires its direct manufacturing suppliers to power production for the company entirely with renewable electricity before 2030. An analysis cited by DigiTimes puts the share of circuit board industry emissions attributable to purchased electricity at nearly 60%.
Requirements set by Apple and Google are pushing suppliers to disclose sustainability information, increase purchases of renewable power and pursue emissions reductions with companies further along their supply chains, DigiTimes reported.
Switching materials presents another obstacle. According to the report, lower-carbon options still fall short of some performance specifications for advanced circuit boards. Those alternatives also need extensive testing before manufacturers can adopt them widely.
