IoT Technology Will Save More Than Eight Times the Energy it Consumes by 2030 and Drive Strong Reduction in CO2 Emissions and Water Usage

New research from Transforma Insights, 6GWorld and InterDigital outlines how IoT will positively impact air, water and energy resource consumption

WILMINGTON, Del., April 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Could sustainability be the driver for increased IoT deployment that the technology industry has been waiting for? Informed by a new report released today by Transforma Insights and 6GWorld and sponsored by InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC), there’s a case to be made: according to the report, by 2030 IoT deployment and its disruption of various industries is expected to save more than eight times the energy it consumes, result in net savings of 230 billion cubic meters of water, and eliminate one gigaton of CO₂ emissions.

The report, Sustainability in New and Emerging Technologies, explores the impact that new and emerging technologies will have on electricity, fuel and water usage, CO₂ emissions, and eWaste. The report looks at the incremental impact of new technologies by examining the resource impact of enterprise and commercial technologies compared to a world without it.

Key findings from the report reveal that by 2030:

• IoT solutions will reduce electricity consumption by more than 1.6 petawatt-hours (PWh), enough electricity to support more than 136.5 million homes' energy use for one year.
  
• IoT’s net effect on fuel consumption will reach a yearly 3.5 PWh reduction of (hydrocarbon) fuel.
  
• IoT devices and emerging technologies will conserve nearly 230 billion cubic meters of water – 35% of this impact will result from improved smart water grid operations, and remaining water savings will be supplemented by IoT-enabled agricultural applications like crop management and remote pest control.
  
• The manufacturing of new and emerging IoT technologies is expected to increase global electricity use by 34 terawatt-hours (TWh) but will be offset by the more than 1.6 PWh of electricity conserved by IoT solutions.
  
• IoT will result in an additional 53 TWh of fuel used for distribution and deployment of solutions. This distribution and deployment will generate incremental eWaste, including additional hardware per device and increased levels of device shipments. The overall impact will be more than 657,000 tons of eWaste.
  
• IoT solutions will collectively enable one gigatons benefit in CO₂ emissions. The impact on CO₂ emission is notably lower in regions that have a greater representation of renewable energy in their generating profile.

“In every area of technology, researchers, governing bodies, regulators and standards-setting organizations are expanding their field of vision to include the social, economic and environmental components that impact, and are impacted by, new solutions,” said Henry Tirri, Chief Technology Officer, InterDigital. “IoT is a technology that we believe can and will transform our world, and its place at the center of 5G and eventual 6G development highlights the tremendously positive impact that the work of InterDigital and others is having in providing solutions for an improved world.”