The First in the Industry to Develop and Implement In-House Equipment to Extract Copper from Waste Copper Sulfate

In 2016, TSMC cooperated with vendors to develop and implement in-house copper extraction and waste regeneration technology to reduce the amount of copper sulfate outsourced for treatment. Some 1,942 metric tons of waste copper sulfate intended for outsourcing treatment were regenerated inhouse into 42 metric tons of copper tubes. Based on this successful experience, TSMC continued to invest in regeneration systems for copper waste at each plant in 2017 and further collaborated with vendors to develop additional production processes to make regenerated copper tubes that can be manufactured into electronic-grade electroplating copper. At the end of 2017, the regenerated materials were successfully returned to TSMC's product processes in small-volume validation, and it is expected that in 2018 the validation will be expanded, keeping the Company's journey toward circular economy on schedule.