According to a new case study by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), 40% of existing microchip fabrication plants (fabs) and over 40% of new fabs announced since 2021 are projected to be in basins with high or extremely high risk of water stress by 2030.
Data centres and semiconductor manufacturing plants — already water-intensive facilities — are located or expanding to regions currently or at future risk from water stress, such as Northeast Asia and the western US.
These challenges compound because of the interconnected water-related dependencies of today’s high-growth tech sectors, such as microchip manufacturing, data centres for AI services, cloud computing and cryptocurrency mining.
