Swedish Startup NSS Water Targets Chip Yields With NanoPure Purification

Swedish startup NSS Water is deploying a proprietary purification technology designed to meet the extreme water and chemical requirements of semiconductor fabrication. By utilizing membrane distillation, the company produces ultrapure water (UPW) capable of removing contaminants in the 5-10 nanometer range.

The company's NanoPure Water (NPW) technology differs from traditional centralized systems by employing a Point-of-Use (PoU) approach, which treats water directly at or inside the manufacturing equipment. To validate the technology's efficacy on 300mm wafers, NSS Water has partnered with AlixLabs and Fraunhofer IPMS. This benchmarking project is supported by the EU's ASCENT+ program with funding valued at approximately 28,000 euros.

The Precision Challenge

Semiconductor manufacturing is among the most water-intensive industries globally, with some facilities consuming up to 10 million gallons of ultrapure water every day. As chip feature sizes continue to shrink, the margin for error disappears; nanoparticles between 5 and 20 nanometers can cause critical defects that reduce overall yield. Traditional purification methods are often energy-intensive and costly, creating a systemic need for more sustainable, high-purity alternatives that can keep pace with molecular-level engineering.

Impact on Global Fabrication

Improving water purity directly correlates to higher chip yields—the percentage of usable chips per wafer—while simultaneously reducing the environmental footprint of the industry. By decreasing the volume of water and chemicals required for wafer cleaning, the NPW technology aims to lower operational costs for fabrication plants. This is particularly critical for manufacturing hubs in Taiwan and South Korea, where water scarcity poses a significant operational risk. CEO Björn Holmström noted that the technology allows the company to deliver higher purity with less water and fewer chemicals, achieving better results with less waste.

Market Expansion

NSS Water is currently expanding its footprint into the South Korean and Taiwanese markets. The company's entry into Korea began in 2022 through the K-Startup Grand Challenge, where it ranked in the top 30 out of more than 2,600 applicants. Future milestones include the continued validation of its PoU systems within active fab environments to prove that "reinventing semiconductors one drop of water at a time" is scalable for mass production.