ASML joins K-Semiconductor Belt with $210 mn investment by 2025

The Netherlands-based ASML Holding N.V., the world’s leading supplier of semiconductor equipment, will be joining the South Korean government-led K-Semiconductor Belt initiative by building a remanufacturing facility and a large-scale training center in the country.

The K-Semiconductor Belt, led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), is a public-private partnership project that aims to create the world’s largest chip supply chain by 2030.

ASML Korea, at an agreement ceremony held at the Samsung Campus with MOTIE and Gyeonggi Provincial Government, said that it will invest 240 billion won ($210 million) to build a remanufacturing facility and a training center in Hwaseong city, Gyeonggi Province.

MOTIE and Gyeonggi government will provide working-level assistance to ASML regarding licensing and approval of its new business expansion in the country and the province. Planned to be built by 2025, ASML’s facilities will additionally employ more than 300 specialists from South Korea.

The Dutch company is the world’s only maker of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are one of the key equipment for 5-nanometer (nm) chipsets.

It is reported that even the global semiconductor industry’s leading players like Samsung and Taiwan’s TSMC must wait for months and sometimes even years before they can purchase ASML’s EUV machines, which cost around $150 million apiece.

The supply of ASML’s EUV machines is severely limited, as the company can only manufacture around 30 units per year. ASML said it will ramp up the annual production volume to around 55 units in 2021 to meet the increasing global demand. TSMC is known to have around 50 of ASML’s machines in possession, while Samsung has around 10.

Lam Research Corporation, the world’s third-largest semiconductor equipment maker based in the US, will also expand investment in South Korea. Industry sources reported that the American company has doubled its production target in Korea and is looking for a site that will house its new manufacturing facility for ramping up the production.

Analysts say that more global companies are expected to expand investment in Korea to strengthen business opportunities with Samsung and SK Hynix, which are increasingly putting more money into the foundry segment.

“In the special fields like the EUV sector, our companies can’t catch up with the industry leader in a short period of time. We need to build stronger partnerships with the global companies like ASML if South Korea wants to strengthen its semiconductor ecosystem,” said an industry representative.  

Write to Hyung-suk Song at click@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.