Air Liquide is putting more than €170 million into a single Japanese chip plant. The French industrial gas group announced the investment on September 30 to supply ultra-high purity gases to a leading semiconductor manufacturer, under a long-term agreement. The money backs the expansion of the customer’s existing logic chip facility.
Air Liquide will build, own and operate several production units there. They will deliver large volumes of ultra-pure nitrogen, oxygen, argon and hydrogen, with significant backup storage capacity. Chipmaking needs those gases to keep its environments ultra-clean and stable.
The site sits in the heart of Japan’s Southern semiconductor hub, an area the company describes as a magnet for major industrial investment. It calls the deal a renewed partnership. The company links it to demand from artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, which depend on advanced chips.
Ronnie Chalmers, the Air Liquide group vice president who oversees Asia-Pacific operations, said the investment “demonstrates the great confidence our customers place in our pioneering industrial solutions.” He added that the company’s solutions act as a “foundational backbone to the growing AI technology sector.”
The company has worked in Japan since 1907 and has about 2,000 employees there. It has built its electronics expertise over more than 40 years. Air Liquide did not name the chipmaker.
