OCI supplies ultrapure phosphoric acid to SK Hynix

OCI Co. has won a contract from SK Hynix Inc. to supply it high-purity phosphoric acid, becoming the country’s first to provide the core chip-producing material to all Korean semiconductor makers.

The South Korean fine chemical company announced on Monday that SK Hynix has selected it as its first Korean supplier of high-purity phosphoric acid after OCI passed the chipmaker’s quality test.

OCI said it had delivered the first batch of the mass-produced material, essential to the semiconductor wafer-etching process, last month.

The deal makes OCI Korea’s first to supply high-purity phosphoric acid to all of the country’s semiconductor producers including Samsung Electronics Co., SK Keyfoundry Inc. and DB HiTek Co.

The contract is also expected to help OCI cement its position as the country’s leading producer of ultrapure phosphoric acid and expand its footing in the semiconductor materials manufacturing industry.

MORE FOCUS ON CHIP MATERIALS

OCI entered the phosphoric acid industry in 2007 and now boasts an annual production capacity of 25,000 tons.

The company plans to ramp up its high-purity phosphoric acid output to meet the increasing demand for the material.

“OCI will expand the chip material business to meet the growing demand from the semiconductor industry and enhance our competitiveness in the sector,” OCI Chief Executive Kim Yoo-shin said after the SK Hynix deal was announced.

High-purity phosphoric acid is used across all chip fabrication processes, including dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash chip production, as well as chip foundry.

Demand for it is expected to steadily increase in line with growing demand for high-performing chips such as high-bandwidth memory and the recovery of the overall chip market, the company said.

OCI also produces another core semiconductor material: ultrapure hydrogen peroxide. It supplies the material to Japanese multinational computer memory maker Kioxia Holdings Corp.

In a bid to enhance its position as a semiconductor and battery material producer, OCI last month agreed to buy a 51% stake in P&O Chemical Co. from its business partner POSCO Future M Co. for 50 billion won ($37.4 million).

P&O is a 51-49 joint venture between POSCO Future M and OCI, launched in 2020. It produces high-purity hydrogen peroxide for semiconductor cleaning and coating material.

After the acquisition, P&O will be OCI’s fully owned subsidiary and is expected to increase the parent’s hydrogen peroxide output by 50,000 tons.

Currently, OCI can produce up to 75,000 tons of hydrogen peroxide per year.

OCI, Korea's only polysilicon producer, also manufactures carbon materials and others, such as automotive interior materials.

Write to Sang Hoon Sung at uphoon@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.