Recently, LG Chem announced that it signed a business cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Jiangyin Jianghua Micro-Electronic Materials Co., Ltd., a Chinese fine chemical materials company. The two parties will cooperate on ultra-high-purity isopropyl alcohol (HP-IPA) for semiconductors.
Under the cooperation arrangement, LG Chem will supply propylene-based C3-IPA to Jianghua Microelectronics, which will further purify and process it into semiconductor-grade HP-IPA and supply it to the Chinese market. The two parties will also conduct technical exchanges, information exchanges, and joint marketing, with a focus on developing customers in advanced semiconductors such as AI chips and HBM.
The C3-IPA supplied by LG Chem comes from its Yeosu plant in South Korea, which has an annual production capacity of approximately 165,000 tons. LG Chem has previously supplied related products to South Korean semiconductor companies and continues to expand into overseas markets.
AI Chips and HBM Become Key Demand Drivers for HP-IPA
The listing of AI chip and HBM companies as key customers in this cooperation is related to the current expansion direction of the semiconductor industry.
Growing demand for AI servers is driving continued capacity expansion in advanced logic chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which in turn increases demand for electronic chemicals used in wafer manufacturing. As a high-purity chemical used in semiconductor manufacturing, HP-IPA is also being driven by the expansion of advanced semiconductor capacity.
China is an important global semiconductor production market, and investment related to AI chips and memory continues to increase. Jianghua Microelectronics has long been engaged in the high-purity electronic chemical materials business and has supplied related products to Chinese semiconductor companies. This cooperation will further expand the two parties' customer development in the HP-IPA field.
LG Chem Continues to Expand Its Semiconductor Materials Business
In July this year, LG Chem announced that it would supply semiconductor strippers to Amkor Technology, and its semiconductor materials business has already achieved actual customer supply. At the same time, the company is increasing the revenue share of high-value-added application products in the related business, with a target of raising it to more than 25% by 2030. Semiconductor-grade IPA is also included in this direction.
Through this cooperation with Jianghua Microelectronics, LG Chem is further extending its C3-IPA business into semiconductor-grade HP-IPA and entering the Chinese market.
LG Chem's accelerated development of electronic materials is also related to the current operating environment of South Korea's petrochemical industry. In recent years, China's petrochemical capacity has continued to increase, and South Korean petrochemical companies are facing greater price and profit pressure on traditional products. Major South Korean petrochemical companies are advancing capacity adjustments and reducing some less competitive traditional product businesses.
