As India embraces a wave of semiconductor investments from multinationals, chemical industry players are also gearing up to seize this business opportunity.
Business Standard quoted Saket Tiku, president of the All India Industrial Gases Manufacturers Association, saying that the Indian industry is well equipped to live up to the challenge, there are local suppliers in India, and the rest of the requirements of specialty gases can be met through imports.
Inox Air Products managing director Siddharth Jain told Business Standard that semiconductor needs more types of gases than solar cells and mobile phones, two sectors with growing supply chains in India. However, according to the report, most of the gases are not produced in India.
Semiconductor manufacuring requires a variety of materials sourced worldwide. According to TSMC's annual report for 2022, the world's largest pure-play foundry counts 12 companies as its chemical suppliers, and nine companies, including Air Liquide, Air Products, and Central Glass, provide TSMC specialty gases. According to Bloomberg's supply chain analysis, chemicals account for about 5% of TSMC's expenses.
SCL, an Indian research institute capable of making chips with 180nm process, lists Siltronics, Dupont, Innox Air Products, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, Korean Gases, Linde, and more, as its suppliers for chemicals, such as photo-chemicals, ultrapure solvents and acids, plasma etch gases and inert gases.
India has got Micron on board to build its semiconductor ecosystem, with Foxconn and Vedanta looking to invest in the future. Micron's investments may encourage more suppliers in the semiconductor industry to follow suit, with Japan-based Disco considering setting up a lab and Applied Materials urging partners to invest in India.
