Camille Morhardt 00:12
Hi, I’m Camille Morhardt, host of InTechnology podcast. And today we’re going to have a conversation about water, specifically industrial use and restoration of water in semiconductor manufacturing. I’ve brought to the conversation Vanessa Lanas Delbridge, who is senior environmental engineer and who is in charge of Intel’s global water stewardship implementation. Welcome to the podcast, Vanessa.
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 00:37
Hi, Camille, thank you.
Camille Morhardt 00:40
And, you know, among other roles that you have been in charge of compliance for industrial wastewater management at one of Intel’s high volume manufacturing facilities, correct?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 00:53
Yes, that’s correct. I started my career at Intel’s Ronler Acres, the largest campus in Oregon where there’s research on development and high volume manufacturing and I was the manager of the wastewater program. It was pretty exciting.
Camille Morhardt 01:09
In general can you just describe what water is used for in semiconductor manufacturing at sort of a high level? What are the different processes that use water?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 01:18
Yeah, absolutely. So it’s interesting because you wouldn’t think of a manufacturing site for semiconductors as using a lot of water. So you think that electronics and water don’t mix, but we actually use a lot of water. Semiconductor is a very water intensive industry and it’s used at different levels. So first in our operations, in our manufacturing sites, we take water and we clean it to the highest possible standards before it touches our wafers, which are the discs where all the implants and fun stuff happens just to make the chips that go into the computer and everyday equipment that people use. So that water rinses the wafer every time that something is done to it. Every time that you add a layer to it, layers of metals, polishers and so on, it rinses the wafer and is used at so many of those processes and then it’s collected and it goes to a central location when it’s… it goes through certain treatment depending on what it has. So for example, if it has some sort of metals of or other constituents, it’s pH adjusted and it is all collected and treated before it’s discharged. Water is also used for our general operations. So for example, cooling towers that regulate the temperature in our manufacturing sites and in our office buildings. It’s used for abatement, which are the treatment systems for air discharges, scrubbers, which also are another set of treatment systems for our emissions and effluence and yeah so water is used really throughout the entire campus. And it’s, our water footprint is pretty well monitored in our large manufacturing sites. We have digital twins of how our water moves in our campuses is pretty interesting and that has allowed us to keep a really good hold of how we are managing our water resources.
Camille Morhardt 03:24
Can you just elaborate on the digital twin for a moment? What is that and what does it look like pertaining to water?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 03:31
Yeah, so we started developing water models for our large manufacturing sites in the US, in Israel, and in Ireland. They all have these water models that essentially show you in a big screen, it’s a software that shows you how the water moves, how much water comes on campus, where it goes, how it’s collected, where it’s saved or stored and how it’s discharged. And with that, we’re able to have a really good idea of how we’re using the resource. And that really has helped us to manage the resource more efficiently because we know where there’s some room for optimization or how we could segregate certain waste so we have better quality wastewater discharges being sent and being reused in other parts of campus. So we have gotten really, really creative with that. And we have a history of almost three decades of efforts and investments in water conservation efforts. So these digital twins, these water models, they give us a really good sense of how we are using the water that we also share with other stakeholders in our watershed.
Camille Morhardt (04:49)
Are you using artificial intelligence to kind of look at improving water use yet?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge (04:57)
It’s a pretty new field, so I don’t believe that we are using it yet to the fullest extent of its potential possibilities, but that is certainly something that we are open to consider. We have a governance body when it comes to water for Intel. We have the global water management team, and this is a group of experts and water conservation passionate teammates from different business units who come together to develop the strategy and roadmap for Intel’s water management and use. So they definitely are open to exploring new technologies for water conservation, and I’m sure that we’re gonna be looking at AI in the future.
Camille Morhardt (05:39)
Where does the water come from, essentially? Is it from groundwater? Is it from rivers, lakes, oceans?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge (05:46)
It’s pretty interesting and it’s pretty mixed. For the most part, the water that we use is water that we purchase from utility providers. So every city offers water depending on where it’s available for that specific location. So I would say that mostly water comes from rivers and then it’s treated and offered to until just that it’s offered to any domestic users like, you know, in neighborhoods and other businesses in the areas where we operate. In some locations, for example, in Israel, we are using seawater that goes through the salination process and is used for our manufacturing processes. In some cases, I know that there’s a mix of groundwater plus surface water and even in some locations like Arizona we purchase water that has been reclaimed by the city. And we really hope that that’s an option that becomes available more and more because we would really love to use water that is not taken directly from the watershed, but water that has gone through certain treatment and can be reused by Intel.
Camille Morhardt (06:48)
So where does these manufacturing facilities that use large quantities of water?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge (06:55)
Yeah, so in the United States, we have large manufacturing sites in Oregon, in Arizona, and New Mexico. We also have operations in California and office spaces in some other states and we announced a new Greenfield site so this means a completely new site in Ohio that is right now being built and we are going to have operating in the upcoming years. That’s in the US and beyond the US, as I mentioned, we have operations in Ireland, in Israel and in Asia. So we have Malaysia, Vietnam, China; we have operations in Costa Rica and Mexico in Central America. And we also announced another Greenfield site, another completely new site in Germany and expanded operations in Poland.
Camille Morhardt 07:45
Okay, so give us a sense of how much water is being used. What is the quantity of water we’re talking about here?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 07:54
Yeah, so last year we used over 11 billion gallons of water globally. So that is a sizable amount of water.
Camille Morhardt 08:06
In the annual report where you publish kind of different projects that rise, that sort of sustainability goals and track progress toward them, it says that Intel has a goal of restoring 110% of the water it uses. So how do you get to over 100 %?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 08:26
Yeah, that’s a great question. So the goal is to be net positive water, which means that we are going to return to the environment more water than what we use in our operations. And you’re totally right. We don’t make water. So how is it that we are getting to over 100%? That has two main components. So one is the waste, the water that we use in our day-to-day operations and we treat it and then we discharge it to the city where it can be further treated and can go back to the river or can be used for different purposes. So that is water that is returned through wastewater treatment and discharge. That accounts for around 80% of the water that we use on site. So the delta, the difference, the 20% difference is water that is generally evaporated. And there’s some other small losses, like for example, irrigation or is water that has gone through some leaks or is it water that has been shipped offsite as part our waste tracking offsite? So that 20% is what we want to compensate with external water restoration projects. And we partner with several nonprofits and where we operate some are large global nonprofits and NGOs. Some are more regional and some, some are pretty local and they’re really the experts of the watersheds where our campuses are. We operate on a water basis because we know that we understand that we are really impacting the watershed and we really want to contribute to its health and sustainability. So we fund these water restoration projects that return certain volumes of water to the environment and we work with water experts who help us assess and evaluate these projects. There’s a methodology that is used to just really quantify how much water is being put back into the environment through these water restoration projects. And at the end of the year, we account for those volumes. We have them validated by our third party consultants. And that helps us with those returns to the environment. And that is what has helped us worldwide to achieve 110% of water returned in 2023. I have to say that this 110 % does not necessarily mean that we have achieved our goal of net positive water. We achieved it for four countries. So for the US, for India, for Costa Rica, and for Mexico. That’s a goal that we set by 2030. We will consider that achieved when every one of our locations has achieved net positive water.
Camille Morhardt 11:15
Okay, and can you just explain what a watershed is? Because I know that, you know, water often defines state, local, or regional boundaries so you’re not able to keep it necessarily within a county or within a state. So, explain watershed.
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 11:32
Yeah, so in simple terms, as you said, water really knows no boundaries. So it’s really what is the river that feeds into a certain location. And you have rivers of different sizes, right? So you have like large rivers like the Colorado River, like the Columbia river that supplies our facilities also in the South, like New Mexico, for example and then you have smaller watersheds that kind of like feed into that larger watershed. So we really consider the larger watershed, which is the river and what it’s around it. Because it’s not just the river and the area that has water, but you have also the slopes and the ecosystems that surround that river and that contribute directly to its health.
Camille Morhardt 12:21
So I understand each of these watersheds, especially if you’re comparing Arizona and Oregon, for example, in the United States, one very wet climate, one very dry climate that you use very localized programs, like you’re saying, through NGOs and other groups…are funding the treatment of water that’s coming out of, you know, third party manufacturing facilities to gain that water back? How does that happen?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 12:48
Yeah, so we have a portfolio of 45 projects that we have funded so far, and all of them are very, very different. And it really depends on what the needs are for that specific location and watershed. You’re right, the needs of our sites and of the watersheds in Oregon are going to be very different than the ones in Arizona. So we really rely on the experts who help us assess what the needs are and what the opportunities are in that specific watershed to select the best projects that can be really impactful for our communities and for the environment. Some of those projects are nature-based. So the simplest example is tree planting. So for example, we’ve contributed to projects that have planted trees in locations that lost all their vegetation because of wildfires. Or for example, our non-profit partners have developed projects that improve the irrigation of certain crop replacement where you have some crops that use a lot of water and that have been replaced by crops that use a lot less water and they are more native and they are much more resilient to drought. That’s for the nature piece. We have also funded some projects that are more urban-based. So for example, in Malaysia, we funded projects that help conserve water in schools by replacing some of the equipment that they have. For example, when the children are going to wash their hands. So instead of just letting it run, it’s just a top faucet. And then they just use the quantity that they need. And that brings some significant water savings and that is what’s accounted at the end of the year. So the portfolio of projects are pretty, pretty diverse and it changes based on the location.
Camille Morhardt 14:41
Why water? I mean, there’s a lot of different actions that companies can take in manufacturing to help with greenhouse gasses and all kinds of things. So what, you know, in your opinion, what is kind of… what’s the reason to focus on water?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 14:58
Well, water is one of the pieces of our sustainability strategy for Intel. So there are certainly other areas that Intel is managing and is continually improving. So we have a pretty solid climate change program. We also have a pretty solid waste program, energy conservation, green chemistry, you name it. So we are focusing on different areas and we know that water is a really important piece of that because as I was saying before, the semiconductor industry is pretty water intensive. So we know that that’s one of the natural resources that we use currently and are going to be using in the future and we want to make sure that we use it responsibly and so that it is available for us and for the communities where we operate.
Camille Morhardt 15:48
And then in the global scene, like what do people… just to take a step away from Intel and just wondering what do people argue about in your field right now? Is it like how we define net zero or is it, you know, how to approach it or what are people arguing over generally?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 16:06
That’s a great question. I think that the conversation continues to be around water efficiency. So how do you use water in the most effective way? There’s this understanding that as companies grow and we need more products for an ever growing population, you can use the resource in the most effective way without causing as much impact and without damaging the ability of others to use the same resource. So I would say water use efficiency is pretty high in the list of items that are currently being discussed. Water intensity too is an interesting indicator so how much water you use per unit of product that you generate and that goes back to the water efficiency piece. In the net positive water space, I have seen more and more companies get on board with that concept and adopting it as one of their goals. Intel was the first technology company to set a net positive water goal and that is something that started in other industries, such as the food and beverage industry because they have different needs and different priorities and are perceived in a different way by the communities where they are but we knew early on that that was a goal that would be pretty interesting for Intel because we understand that there are ways of doing things and just tackling a problem through different approaches. And that is in line with our main sustainability strategy. For water stewardship, our two main strategies are water conservation in our operations. So again, back to efficiency and then just working with other stakeholders and engaging other stakeholders, working collaboratively to improve the health of the watersheds. And we do that with our water restoration program.
Camille Morhardt 18:00
Can you talk to us a little bit more about what Intel’s doing for water conservation?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 18:05
Certainly, we have different actions and projects in the space of water conservation in our operations. One of the main ones are our three large water reclaimed facilities that we have in Oregon, in Arizona, and in Israel. And these are large state-of-the-art on-site treatment facilities that treat our commingled wastewater, and that allows us to use it back into our operations. So it goes to cooling towers, scrubbers, and other facilities. So those are really large investments that Intel has made that save billions of gallons of water per year.
Camille Morhardt 18:46
Oh, that was a question I had! Okay, so I was reading in the annual report that there’s a lot of savings now, but that it’s almost an order of magnitude more that there’s processes put in place where there’s going to be able to save 200 million gallons of water or something along those lines. Is that what you’re talking about right now, the reclamation facilities?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 19:08
The reclamation facilities are there and they are operating in full capacity and they bring back billions of gallons of water per year. But the global water management team at Intel continuously explores new opportunities for water conservation. So maybe what you saw in the report are other projects that we have in line and are at different stages of development, right? So we have projects that are in the concept phase and other projects that are being in the design phase or pilot or full implementation. And those are projects that are going to save Intel potentially millions of gallons of water every year, depending on the size, on the scale and where they are implemented. And those are really interesting projects that have a good ROI, so projects that really pay for themselves eventually down the road and they save a lot of water in terms of the fresh water that we take from the watersheds. So we are able to reduce that amount of water because of these water conservation efforts.
Camille Morhardt 20:13
What can you tell us about one of those innovative approaches, like even if it’s early in definition; what’s an example of something that kind of takes it to just another level?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 20:24
Yeah, so we have really interesting projects at the tool levels so to develop these wafers there are certain tools that are being used, right? And each one is very specialized and need water in certain capacities and we call them recipes. So, and that’s when the water does certain flushes or cleans the wafer in a certain way and what is an idle mode too. So when the machine is actually not operating, we’re just waiting for the next batch of wafers to just go through it. We have been able to work with the tool designers and builders and ask them to optimize these tools to use less water. So that is something that’s pretty innovative because that tackles directly into our supply chain engagement when we are really working with those who supply us with the tools for the operations and optimize the water use. Another example is at the same tool level, we are being able to reclaim some of that water and recycle it to the front of the tool by just doing smaller adjustments to the tool, adding some cabinets, treating it like right there when the wastewater is being generated, it is treated and it’s just going back to the front of the tool. And with a couple of those pilots, a couple of those successful stories that is being just cross pollinated to all the high volume manufacturing sites.
Camille Morhardt 21:46
Vanessa, how did you get interested in water conservation and sustainability?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 21:52
Yeah, it’s been an interesting journey. I think water has been present in my career since pretty early on. I loved studying water and being involved in water in all its shapes and forms. So I’ve done domestic wastewater, industrial wastewater now, groundwater treatment. I’ve done stormwater management, research on potential wastewater treatments and now I’m really glad to be in the field of sustainability and being able to kind of like go back to the ecosystem piece of that and the watershed piece of that. Yeah it’s been kind of the compass in my career, being in water and you know sometimes you stumble into some things and then you just stay there because you know that you have a passion for it.
Camille Morhardt 22:45
Are you originally from Ecuador?
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 22:47
I am, yes, from Quito, the capitol.
Camille Morhardt 22:50
Okay, and that’s an interesting place because it’s up in the mountains, but then the Amazon basin is all around it. I was just wondering if that may have influenced your interest in water.
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 23:01
Yeah, maybe it was, you know, when I was growing up, and I think this is true for a lot of people, you don’t think too much about water. Water is this resource that you just have available and you just open your faucet and there it is: clean, available whenever you want it and Quito being in the Andes has really high quality water because it, you know, it comes from the highlands and it’s, you know, collected and it’s brought to the city and it’s really great. I always say that no water tastes like the water from back home. And yeah, I don’t know where this interest in water came from. I always knew that I wanted to dedicate my professional life to the environment. I always knew that I wanted to do that. I didn’t know if I was going to be an ecologist or a biologist or something, but environmental engineering is something that just really popped up and it really became my passion. And I’m so glad that I chose what I chose. And through different professional opportunities at the time, I started exploring water more and more. And then when I did my masters, that became my main center of study and research. So I think that that’s where I really started focusing on water.
Camille Morhardt 24:14
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge, Senior Environmental Engineer with Intel, responsible for global water stewardship for the company, thank you so much for your time today.
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 24:26
Thank you so much, Camille, for having me.
Camille Morhardt 24:28
And we’ll put the link in the show notes below to the actual annual report that Intel produces. There’s a section specifically on water use and restoration within that, as well as a bunch of other information about sustainability. Thanks again.
Vanessa Lanas Delbridge 24:43
Thank you.
