Circular Economy, a Path to a Sustainable Ecosystem: Infineon's Security Solutions Support the Industry, the Consumer, and the Environment Alike

Global resources are becoming increasingly scarce and responsible use of them is crucial. With over 57.4 million tons of electronic waste produced annually (2021) at a net worth of nearly $60 billion¹, e-waste constitutes one of the largest waste streams. A circular economy helps tackling these challenges by extending the lifecycle of products, keeping resources circulating in the value chain for as long as possible and saving resources and energy. Providing reliable spare parts for electronic devices plays a major role in this concept. Authentication solutions like Infineon Technologies AG’s (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) OPTIGA™ Authenticate product family support the verification of spare parts as well as original products and contribute to a trustworthy, sustainable economic approach.

A circular approach to electronic products is defined by the 6R concept: Reduce, reliability, repair, reuse, refurbish and recycle.

These principles guide Infineon’s waste management for instance by reusing solvents in the manufacturing process. Infineon's product design also aims to reduce resource consumption and hazardous waste and replace critical substances. Infineon also delivers products to customers that help them innovate and create more sustainable solutions.

Sustainable and reliable – thanks to OPTIGA™ Authenticate

The Right to Repair regulation, for example, is a central part of national sustainability programs worldwide. Infineon security solutions such as the OPTIGA Authenticate family support manufacturing companies in efficiently, cost-sensitively and purposefully addressing some of the key challenges of these new regulations.

"The OPTIGA Authenticate product family allows authentication of devices, the verification of spare parts and of the genuineness of original products. This enables product safety for end users and helps manufacturing companies meet quality and performance standards for electronic devices,” explains Josef Haid, Distinguished Engineer Security System Architectures Infineon Technologies. "Authenticators also create more security and transparency for consumers, since they can trust the authenticity and quality of devices and spare parts. Moreover, due to the increased demand for spare parts, it opens up a new market for the industry, covers potential warranty claims, and prevents counterfeiting at the same time."

The OPTIGA Authenticate product family can be used in a wide range of replaceable components for example within a smartphone ecosystem such as batteries, displays and camera modules as well as power adapters, wireless chargers, and headphones. In addition, OPTIGA Authenticate security solutions can be used in other electronic devices such as power tools, notebooks, light electric vehicles, multicopters, VR/AR applications and many more. The mechanism is very simple: The OPTIGA Authenticate S security chip is integrated in a product, for example, the battery (client) of an e-scooter (host). This allows the host and client to communicate with one another and authenticate themselves, letting the host verify that the battery is original or that it conforms to certain standards.

Authentication solutions such as the OPTIGA Authenticate product family are an easy and cost-efficient way for manufacturers to help meet legal requirements and protect their brand value from potential counterfeits. With the OPTIGA Authenticate product family, Infineon takes another step towards a circular economy, enabling its customers to build more sustainable solutions.

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG is a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. Infineon drives decarbonization and digitalization with its products and solutions. The company has around 56,200 employees worldwide and generated revenue of about €14.2 billion in the 2022 fiscal year (ending 30 September). Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the OTCQX International over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: IFNNY).

Further information is available at www.infineon.com

¹https://pacecircular.org/action-agenda/electronics

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