Demand for chemical raw materials in the semiconductor industry surges

As the global semiconductor industry (especially 3nm/2nm advanced processes) expands (projected 18% growth in 2025), demand for high-purity electronic chemicals—critical for chip manufacturing—has surged, creating new growth opportunities for chemical enterprises.

Key materials like ultra-pure hydrofluoric acid (UPHF, purity ≥99.999999%), photoresist, and electronic-grade isopropyl alcohol (IPA) have seen 30-40% year-on-year demand growth. For example, Taiwan’s TSMC’s 3nm chip production line requires UPHF with impurity content ≤0.1ppb (parts per billion)—a standard that only 5 global chemical firms (including Japan’s Stella Chemifa and China’s Jingrui Lithium) can meet. These enterprises have expanded capacity: Stella Chemifa has added a 5,000-ton/year UPHF plant in Japan, while Jingrui Lithium’s 3,000-ton/year electronic-grade IPA facility in Jiangsu has secured supply contracts with SMIC.

The market for electronic chemicals is projected to exceed $65 billion in 2025, with high-purity materials accounting for 60% of the total. However, technical barriers remain high: developing UPHF for 2nm processes requires 10+ purification steps, and only 3 enterprises globally have mastered the core technology—leaving most regional chemical firms to focus on mid-to-low-end electronic chemical segments (e.g., cleaning agents for packaging chips).