South Korea's OCI Expands High-Purity Phosphoric Acid Capacity to 30,000 Tons/Year

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 29, South Korea's OCI announced its participation in the construction of a semiconductor chemical materials specialized industrial cluster in Gunsan, Iksan, and Wanju of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, and will advance the expansion of ultra-high-purity semiconductor materials as a core enterprise in the Gunsan region. The existing capacity of semiconductor-grade phosphoric acid at OCI's Gunsan plant is 25,000 tons/year. The company will add 5,000 tons/year of new capacity through debottlenecking, raising total capacity to 30,000 tons/year, an increase of 20%.

The Gunsan plant currently produces both semiconductor-grade polysilicon and high-purity phosphoric acid, with semiconductor-grade polysilicon capacity at 4,700 tons/year. High-purity phosphoric acid is mainly used for wafer etching and can be applied in DRAM, NAND Flash, and foundry production. OCI entered the semiconductor-grade phosphoric acid business in 2007 and currently supplies major South Korean semiconductor manufacturers including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SK keyfoundry, and DB HiTek.

This capacity expansion is implemented through debottlenecking of existing facilities, improving equipment utilization and effective output through process optimization, without adding independent large-scale production lines. OCI had previously included the 5,000 tons/year debottlenecking project in its 2026 expansion plan. After the new capacity is commissioned, the annual semiconductor-grade phosphoric acid capacity at the Gunsan plant will increase from 25,000 tons to 30,000 tons.

OCI also operates a semiconductor-grade hydrogen peroxide production base in Iksan, a material used in semiconductor cleaning and etching processes. The company began commercial production of hydrogen peroxide in Iksan in 1979 and is currently South Korea's second-largest hydrogen peroxide producer, while also developing new semiconductor chemical materials such as specialty etchants.

Gunsan, Iksan, and Wanju have been included in South Korea's third-phase semiconductor chemical materials specialized industrial cluster. Over the next five years, the cluster plans to receive approximately 45 billion won in government support and approximately 830 billion won in private investment, focusing on building high-purity chemical materials, semiconductor material production, and supporting infrastructure. OCI also plans to advance its wafer regeneration business for semiconductor packaging, targeting commercial production in the first half of 2027.