Green semiconductor advice goes beyond the chip ISSCC The
semiconductor industry is poised to make major contributions to
global energy efficiency, according to NXP Semiconductors chief
technology officer René Penning de Vries speaking at the
International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). The need
for energy efficiency is twofold, according to Penning de Vries
speaking at the San Francisco, California, event. Namely, to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global
warming, and to reduce the overall need for the energy required
to power electronic devices. This will, in turn, reduce the need
for power generation and thus also reduce carbon emissions "For
every one per cent saved in the world's electricity
consumption," said Penning de Vries, "roughly 40 fewer power
stations are required." Most energy efficiency efforts
undertaken by the semiconductor industry up until now have
focused on chips themselves. The next steps "require a new
climate of innovation," which Penning de Vries defined