The impact of electronics on the environment is huge, but no one knows how big

The impact of electronics on the environment is great, but how do you determine the extent when you are dealing with outdated, missing or inaccessible data? Dr. ir. Geert Willems creates clarity in the chaos. Willems is manager of the Electronics Design & Manufacturing Forum (EDM) from imec, a Belgian research center that develops new methods to impact of electronics on the living environment. He shares his findings during the D&E event, on April 19 in 's-Hertogenbosch.

“During my presentation I will explain the lean ecodesignmethod,” says Willems. “This method is based on a low-threshold assessment of the environmental impact of an electronics design.” Lean ecodesign has been developed within the ESA project 'Green eSpace' in which imec collaborates with the Flemish research organization VITO and industry partner OHB, a German company specializing in aerospace technology.

Traditional approach
Green eSpace is in turn part of the 'Clean Space programme'. This programme investigates how ESA and space companies can minimise the impact of space travel on the planet and its environment, for example by producing space electronics in a more environmentally friendly way. Willems explains: "The traditional approach of ecodesign wants to subject each design iteration to a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) that calculates the environmental impact. An LCA analysis consists of two parts. On the one hand, the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis includes how much water and energy are used during production and how much waste is produced. An analysis of the materials used is also part of the LCI. The Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) clearly shows the environmental impact of energy consumption or the use of a certain material. This depends on many factors, such as the way in which electricity is generated. This makes a full-blown LCA is a complex and cumbersome affair. An SME that wants to compare the environmental impact of a number of design options is not interested in that.” 

New method urgently needed
According to Willems, the current LCA-based way of working is inadequate, so a new method is urgently needed. Particularly in the accessibility for the broad group of companies that need a low-threshold environmental impact analysis. Willems: “We are facing two major problems. Firstly: the LCI databases that we have to work with do not contain the correct data because they are based on rough averages with only a parameter such as weight or volume as a scale factor. Their starting point is that one component is representative of all similar components. In reality, this only applies to a limited extent to the simplest components.”

“Suppose I have to determine the environmental impact of an IC component, but I only have a few reference records at my disposal to cover all IC types. Of course, that doesn’t work. The variation between components is so great that data records with averages at component level are not usable in practice.”

Ten year old data
“The second problem is that the data we need, for example on water or energy consumption, is outdated or incomplete. The most recent data from the databases is often more than ten years old! There is a new program running in imec on the environmental impact of IC production. Major international partners have joined this, such as Amazon, Apple, ASML and Microsoft. After all, water and energy consumption are increasing exponentially in the IC production of ever smaller transistors, while companies simultaneously want to become more sustainable and green. 'Less is more' applies to a large extent in the semiconductor industry. The smaller you make it, the more you need to make it.”

Time consuming
Willems explains why the quality of the existing databases is inadequate. “In addition to the fact that the 'average component' principle is wrong, it is also extremely time-consuming to set up a good database. This is due to the complexity and wide variety of components. In the meantime, developments do not stand still. In addition, it often concerns confidential information. Much production information is a trade secret, which makes the accessibility of the required data very difficult.”

Typical processes
“As an alternative to working with ‘average components’, we want to arrive at LCI models for production processes that are internationally representative for a specific production technology, for example PCBs. By modelling the production steps, we can calculate the environmental impact of the components as a function of the component characteristics. Think of: structure, materials used, dimensions, etc.”

pm-LCI
“In contrast to an unclear and unlimited large variation possibility in parts, the number of possible production processes is countable. This means a very large reduction of the complexity of the LCI analysis. We call this method 'parametric model based LCI' or: 'pm-LCI'. We no longer work with data records but with a software model in which you can enter parameters concerning the processes used together with the part characteristics,” Willems explains.  

Adventure
“It is sometimes quite an adventure to arrive at good LCI models,” the engineer continues. “To determine the environmental impact, we need to know how the production processes are structured and how much energy, water and materials they consume, and what waste they produce.” Willems gives an example from space travel. “In space electronics, ceramic IC components are usually used. Depending on the technique used, the ceramic must be baked at temperatures of approximately 850 (LTCC ceramics) or 1600 (HTCC ceramics) degrees. This costs a huge amount of energy. The industrially widespread alternative is the use of plastic. Plastic can already be hardened at 200 to 250 degrees. So you save a lot of energy if you use plastic. But to determine how big that saving is, we need more information: which oven is used and how much energy does that oven consume, how do the hardening processes proceed, and so on. However, many elements are trade secrets, which means that little published information can be found. This makes the research very difficult.”
 
Trade secrets
“We do everything we can to obtain the necessary information. We make models ourselves of the necessary process steps and the influence of the component characteristics on the outcome. For that, you need to have knowledge of the processes, the design and the characteristics of a product. We also work together with companies that are prepared to provide us with data and use production machine data.”

Lean ecodesign
“When we apply the pmLCI method in ecodesign, instead of a full LCA analysis, we talk about lean ecodesign. In lean ecodesign you change materials, processes or components and (only) look at the impact on the LCI quantities (such as energy) using the much simpler and more accurate pm-LCI method. A one-off LCIA, performed prior to the ecodesign exercise, indicates the priorities between the LCI quantities (energy, water, materials, etc.) that the designer must take into account”.

Proof of concept
“As part of our work for the ESA space agency, we have a proof of concept demonstrated on the basis of an electronic module for a satellite from our industry partner OHB. Our research partner VITO was responsible for the LCA work. We looked at the impact on electronic assembly, packaging and PCB production, but also things like testing and certification were investigated. The entire development process was covered.”

During his presentation at the D&E event, Willems will illustrate the principles of a lean ecodesign approach with an example. “There is still a lot of work to be done to arrive at a generic and widely applicable methodology with all the necessary tools. After all, a lot of information is still missing. But the principle works and can already be applied to a certain extent.”

Visit the presentation
Are you interested and would you like to know more about the impact of electronics on the environment and how you can reduce it? Then visit the presentation by Geert Willems during the D&E event, on April 19 in 's-Hertogenbosch. You can register for the event and the lecture for free via the event website.  

Click here for the event website