France’s Air Liquide has signed a long-term contract with South Korean chipmaker SK hynix to support a major industrial project focused on advanced packaging for high bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips. The agreement covers supply for SK hynix’s new packaging and testing fab, known as “P&T7,” which is located in Cheongju in South Korea’s Chungcheongbuk province.
Under the contract, Air Liquide will invest nearly EUR 200 million to build and operate a state-of-the-art nitrogen production unit. The facility is scheduled to start operations in late 2027 and will provide high-purity gases as well as high-purity compressed air to the fab. These inputs are essential for the advanced packaging process used in HBM chips, which are a critical component in artificial intelligence development and other high-performance computing applications.
Air Liquide said the project strengthens its position in South Korea’s semiconductor supply chain and expands its regional footprint. The company highlighted that the new contract builds on its acquisition of DIG Airgas earlier this year. That acquisition gave Air Liquide a larger local presence, deeper customer relationships and a secured portfolio of nearly 20 projects.
By combining DIG Airgas’s local network with Air Liquide’s proprietary technologies for ultra-high purity carrier gases, the company said it can better serve semiconductor customers in the region while accelerating growth in Asia-Pacific. Air Liquide described the project as a reflection of its strategy to pair local execution with global innovation.
Ronnie Chalmers, Air Liquide Group Vice President overseeing Asia-Pacific, said the integration of DIG Airgas has helped the group strengthen its capabilities and speed up development. He said the company now has both local agility and global innovation to support Air Liquide’s growth. Chalmers also said Air Liquide is proud to back SK hynix’s ambitions as the chipmaker plays a leading role in the AI revolution.
The partnership comes as demand rises for advanced semiconductor packaging and specialized industrial gases that enable chip production at scale. High-purity gases are used in sensitive manufacturing environments where even small contaminants can affect yields and product quality.
For SK hynix, the new P&T7 facility is part of its effort to expand advanced packaging capacity for HBM, a memory technology widely used in AI hardware. For Air Liquide, the long-term contract adds another large-scale industrial project tied to the fast-growing semiconductor sector.
The investment underscores the growing importance of South Korea in the global AI supply chain, with major companies investing in the infrastructure needed to produce next-generation chips and related materials.
