UMC launches circular-economy center to advance chip recycling
United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has inaugurated a dedicated Circular Economy & Recycling Innovation Center inside its Fab 12A campus in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The NT$1.8 billion (US$57.5 million) facility aims to convert a wide range of semiconductor waste streams into reusable materials, potentially cutting one-third of UMC’s Taiwan waste while generating new economic value.
The center highlights a growing trend toward on-site resource recovery in semiconductor fabs — an area where process chemicals, solvents, and byproducts represent significant cost, regulatory pressure, and sustainability opportunities.
A first-of-its-kind hub in Southern Taiwan
The new 5,900-m² building (9,000-m² total floor area) serves as a co-development site where recycling vendors process waste directly at the fab. In addition, waste isopropanol and edge bead remover from wafer cleaning are treated into industrial-grade products, with the long-term goal of producing electronic-grade recycled solvents that can re-enter chipmaking lines. Mixed solvents that cannot be purified are thermally cracked into fuel gas for the facility’s own operations.
Partners process calcium fluoride sludge — another wafer-fab byproduct — into artificial fluorite for use as flux in steelmaking, replacing mined fluorite and reducing environmental impact. Altogether, UMC expects the center to divert 15,000 metric tons of waste annually and create roughly NT$100 million in economic value.
The opening event drew representatives from Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council, the Ministry of Environment’s Resource Circulation Administration, the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau, and the Tainan City government — signaling strong policy alignment around industrial recycling.
Circular economy as a fab strategy
UMC frames the center as a cornerstone of its broader waste-reduction roadmap. The company has already reclaimed sulfuric acid for wastewater and air-purification use, recycled waste photomasks into quartz substrates, and recovered high-purity copper from waste copper sulfate.
SC Chien, UMC’s Co-President and Chief Sustainability Officer, emphasized the strategic step the company is taking: “As the first facility of its kind in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, this center represents a key milestone in our industry’s sustainability journey. By opting to build our own on-site recycling facility, UMC aims to increase resource reuse within our fabs and the conversion of waste into valuable products, enhancing the overall sustainability of our operations. It also demonstrates our commitment to advancing circular economy practices in our industry and contributing to global climate action.”
Energy integration and outreach
The facility uses rooftop solar panels and plans to adopt hydrogen fuel cells to further reduce reliance on conventional energy sources. Beyond industrial processing, it houses an educational showroom focused on sustainability and circular-economy practices — an area that has already earned Gold Awards at the 2025 MUSE Design Awards and the 2025 London Design Awards.
For semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers evaluating greener production pathways, UMC’s move marks a notable shift: circular-economy infrastructure is becoming part of the fab itself, not an afterthought handled off-site.
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