Air Liquide will invest more than $170 million to build two new industrial gas production units in Indiana, strengthening the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and supporting SK hynix's first American manufacturing facility as demand for AI memory chips accelerates.

 

Under a long-term agreement, Air Liquide will build, own and operate the facilities, supplying ultra-high-purity nitrogen, oxygen, argon, hydrogen and other industrial gases to SK hynix's advanced chip packaging plant. The units are scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2028.

 

The investment supports production of next-generation memory technologies, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which are essential for artificial intelligence applications and require increasingly large volumes of ultra-pure gases during manufacturing.

 

Located directly at the customer's site, the new production units will provide a continuous, high-quality gas supply to SK hynix's manufacturing lines. 

 

The close integration is designed to meet the stringent precision and cleanliness requirements of advanced semiconductor packaging, where multiple layers of memory chips are vertically stacked to deliver higher computing performance and improved energy efficiency.

 

The project also expands Air Liquide's long-standing global partnership with SK hynix while reinforcing its position as a key supplier to the U.S. semiconductor industry. The company said the new infrastructure will support SK hynix's rapid expansion plans while strengthening the local semiconductor ecosystem.

 

Choonhwan Kim, EVP and Head of Global Infrastructure at SK hynix, stated: "As development begins on America’s first advanced packaging facility for HBM, we are pleased to partner with key industry leaders to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem in Indiana.”

 

Matthieu Giard, Group Executive Committee member, notably in charge of supervising operations in the Americas, added: “This milestone investment underscores Air Liquide’s ability to bolster the growth of our long-standing and strategic partners, and accelerate the development of AI technologies. 

 

"Relying on our three-decade presence in the Electronics sector in the United States, we are proud to support SK hynix’s first landmark expansion in America and contribute concretely to the rise of the most advanced semiconductor technologies."