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Oct 22, 11:11
Apple, Google push PCB supply chain toward net zero amid challenges
PCB makers are expanding sustainability efforts as artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) drive demand for higher-performance boards. Still, the industry faces obstacles in securing affordable renewable power, validating low-carbon materials, and measuring emissions across its supply chain. Industry output is expected to exceed NT$1.13 trillion (US$34.63 billion) in 2026, putting pressure on the industry to balance growth with its sustainability goals.
As renewable energy penetration continues to increase, energy storage systems have become essential to maintaining grid stability and supporting corporate energy transitions. However, Taiwan still lacks effective mechanisms to quantify the risk mitigation and protective value of energy storage, making it difficult for businesses to fully recognize its importance.
Taiwan's leading business groups have urged the government to provide financial support for state-run energy utilities and accelerate the restart of nuclear power plants, as surging global fuel prices drove Taipower's natural gas costs more than NT$70 billion (US$2.15 billion) above prewar levels by the end of August 2026.
As geopolitical tensions reshape global supply chains, US regulations governing energy and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are undergoing rapid and unpredictable changes.
The world's three largest memory manufacturers—Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology—along with Taiwan-based Nanya Technology, Winbond Electronics, and Macronix International, face significant obstacles in their transition to renewable energy.
The rapid advancement of energy-storage technologies in China is enabling the country to capture a formidable share of the global market, with the domestic industry continuing to post record levels of capacity growth.
Taiwan has launched its first proof-of-concept project for shifting renewable electricity through energy storage, a move that could give companies worldwide a model for managing mismatches between green-power generation and consumption. The initiative may improve renewable-energy utilization, support corporate net-zero targets, and test how grid operators handle flexible electricity demand.
China is moving to tighten oversight of technology transfers that support its companies' overseas expansion, proposing export bans and licensing requirements for artificial intelligence (AI), biomedicine, and solar manufacturing, and requiring exporters to register covered transactions immediately.
Major Chinese energy storage system suppliers that once dominated the US market have reportedly withdrawn almost entirely from US operations in 2026, amid mounting regulatory restrictions, overlapping tariffs, and stringent ownership scrutiny, according to US supply chain sources.
From historic trade barriers targeting solar photovoltaics to current import restrictions on new energy vehicles, the minimum import price mechanism has once again surfaced as a core policy instrument. Western governments are using it to shield domestic markets from low-priced Chinese competition.
As advances in aerospace technology lower the barriers to launching and building low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, emerging satellite operators worldwide are driving demand for outsourced space solar cells and modules. Supply-chain sources say the trend is creating new opportunities for Taiwan's solar industry beyond SpaceX, which is led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Chinese battery giant CATL is deploying sodium-ion technology to expand into Europe's energy storage system (ESS) market. The company recently signed a strategic agreement with German system integrator Intilion to deploy up to 3GWh of energy storage projects over the next five years, drawing renewed market focus to the commercialization potential of sodium-ion batteries.