Specialty gases key to business and sustainability

Specialtygases are vital to a wide range of applications especially electronics.

The industrialgas market value is expected to rise from $74.94bn in 2024to $158.19bn by 2034, according to Future Market Insights data, aCAGR of 7.80% over the next decade.

Themarket is being driven by the increasing use of industrial gas in theelectronics (photovoltaic) industry to produce semiconductors, displays, solar,wafers, LED solid-state lighting, and polysilicon.

Solarphotovoltaic energy, especially, is becoming a prominent source of sustainableenergy generation. These gases are expected to reduce manufacturing costs,which are projected to raise demand.

Beyondthese largely Net Zero-driven macro trends, specific sectors are in differentstates of health however.

Takeelectronics. Mike Corbett, Managing Partner at Linx Consulting, the electronicmaterials consultancy, said   recovery is slow and will vary by region andsegments.

“Thisyear is really about battening down the hatches,” he said.

“Withthe state of demand in the semiconductor industry, chip producers are delayinga lot of projects. New fab projects are getting pushed back – companies aregoing to wait until demand picks up. New capacity will not be passed untilpricing recovers and the demand is there.

“Wedon’t see memory coming back, some of logic is coming back, and some legacylogic is falling off – it’s really application driven.”

Buthe forecasts next year will see a bounce back, with some caveats.“It’s likelyAsia will lead a lot of it, but if memory doesn’t get stronger, it’s going tobe hard to see Korea be where they should be – they’re expecting 2025.”

“It’sgoing to take a while to ramp across segments. TSMC should be pretty strong,memory should build, and the China market is looking to do more domestic chipproduction. NEON should grow nicely with the recovery, with laser gas mixes,alongwith NF3, and maybe a little north of how much the industry recovers nextyear.

“Someof the other rare gases, such as Xenon and Krypton, should pick up with memoryin the short term.

“Alot of Europe is tied to automotive, and that seems to be struggling a lot atthis point.”

Hebelieves the next few years will see some news gases coming along, accompaniedby new processes, especially if the recovery happens quickly.

“Thiscryo etch process will have some impact on the mix of gases, and have their ownrequirements with new materials. But that won’t really ramp until 2026-27,people are examining infrastructure issues at this point.”

Increaseddemand in AI, cloud computing, and analytics, which are driving silicon demand,as well as the expansion in electric vehicles, are all spurring growth.

Advancementsin device manufacturing technology will continue to drive healthy growth of thesemiconductor materials market, including ESG.

Majorgrowth drivers include increasing semiconductor content, higher gases intensityin deposition, etch and clean applications, and governments’ policy support globally.Another growth driver is the advancement in logic (computers) and memory (datastorage) devices.

Policy drivers

Plentyof governments are now targeting semiconductors as a strategic industrysegment, and top priority as economic and national security reasons. Under theCHIPS Act, there will be new investment in the US in the next five-to-10 years.

HPis set to benefit from funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, with theDepartment of Commerce announcing up to $50m in funding for the technology firmto support the development and commercialisation of semiconductor technologies.

Ifapproved, the funding will be used to expand and modernise HP’s microfluidicssemiconductor fab in Corvallis, Oregon. The site is part of thecompany’s lab-to-fab ecosystem and is home to several research and development(R&D) activities.

EnriqueLores, President and CEO of HP, said microfluidics could drive changes acrossindustries to pave the way for the next generation of innovation in lifesciences and technology.

“Theproposed investment provides HP with an opportunity to modernise and expand ourfacility to further invest in our microfluidics technology, which is the studyof behaviour and control of fluid on a microscopic scale,” he said.

USsemiconductor firm Texas Instruments could receive up to $1.6bn in funding fromthe US Department of Commerce to support the development of three 300mm waferfabs currently under construction in Texas and Utah.

Anon-binding preliminary memorandum of terms has been signed for the capitaland, if approved, the funds will be distributed under the CHIPS and ScienceAct.

Inaddition to the CHIPS Act capital, Texas Instruments also expects to receivearound $6bn to $8bn from the US Department of Treasury’s Investment Tax Creditfor qualified US manufacturing investments.

Thefunding will support Texas Instruments’ plans for a more than $18bn investmentthrough 2029 as part of its broader investment strategy in manufacturing.

Despitethe positive funding sentiment, US semiconductor manufacturing faces headwindsfrom China, which recently introduced export restrictions on antimony, a keymineral required for chips used in defense equipment. This follows a series ofother export controls last year, most notably on graphite, germanium, galliumand other rare earths.

Accordingto TECHCET, the electronic materials advisory firm, wafer starts forsemiconductor device production are expected to continue rising at a CAGR of 5%to 2028, requiring increased material production.

“Withouta reliable supply of these and other vital materials, the industry will seeshortages and likely experience logistic complications,” it notes.

Thereare signs that, in time, India may present competition to China. In March, itunveiled plans to develop three major semiconductor units initially (fiveoverall) as it ramps up its electronics industry and strives for ‘technologicalself reliance’.

Thefirst semiconductor Fab project involving Tata Electronics Private Limited andPowerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation from Taiwan will be built inDholera, Gujarat, and feature 50,000 wafers per month capacity.

Lastmonth’s SEMICON India, which attracted more than 250 companies across 24countries, positioned India as a ‘trusted partner’ in the global semiconductorsupply chain.

Sh.Akash Tripathi, CEO, Indian Semiconductor Mission, said, “In India, with theongoing construction of the five semiconductor projects, the need for allecosystem components is paramount.”

India’sstrong foundation in design capacity, a large talent pool, and the backing ofleading educational institutions are all attributes as it gets itssemiconductor sector off the ground.

European growth, global collaborations

Ursulavon der Leyen, President of the European Commission, recently attended thelaunch of a €5bn semiconductor plant in Dresden, following on from chip-makingdevelopments in places as scattered as Leuven, Eindhoven, Crolles (nearGrenoble) and Catania.

“Theworld’s largest chipmaker is coming to our continent and joining forces withthree European champions,” she said, referring to European SemiconductorManufacturing Company, which is a joint venture between Taiwan SemiconductorManufacturing Company, Bosch, Infineon, and NXP.

“Whatmakes Dresden so special is not only its proximity to so many top-class firmsin the automotive industry. Here in the region, there are more than 2,500companies in the chips sector.”

Akey driver has been The European Chips Act, added the President, saying it hasbeen three years now since it set the goal to double Europe’s share of globalchip production to 20%.

Anew alliance between New York State and Japan is set to enhance internationalcollaboration and strengthen semiconductor industry clusters for a moreresilient global semiconductor ecosystem.

Specifically,the partnership hopes to strengthen links between NY CREATES Albany NanoTechComplex, the largest non-profit semiconductor R&D facility in NorthAmerica, and Rapidus, a Japanese semiconductor firm under construction inChitose.

NewYork’s Governor Hochul launched NY CREATES Albany NanoTech Complex in December2023 as part of a $10bn partnership with companies such as IBM, Micron, AppliedMaterials, Tokyo Electron, among others.

Micronis partnering with GlobalFoundries, the US National Science Foundation (NSF)and additional leaders in industry, government and education to increase accessto opportunities and to meet the growing demand for semiconductor talent in theStates.

PradheepaRaman, Chief People Officer at GlobalFoundries, said, “Strong public-privatepartnerships, like our collaboration with Micron and NSF to support MinorityServing Institutions, are critical to continue the work of inspiring anddeveloping the skilled workforce our industry needs to grow.”

TheCHIPS & Science Law has delivered $6.1bn for Micron to build their mega-fabproject and another $1.5bn for GlobalFoundries’ expansion.

Source: gasworld