TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Europe’s Air Liquide opened its first semiconductor materials plant in Taiwan on Wednesday, deepening its investment in the country’s AI chip supply chain, Nikkei Asia reported.
The new facility in Taichung will produce silicon precursor materials used in atomic layer deposition, a critical process for advanced chipmaking. The materials will support production of high-performance chips for AI computing and future nodes beyond 2 nm. Generally, the smaller the process the more powerful the chip.
Air Liquide, a key supplier to TSMC, said the plant’s location near major customers will strengthen partnerships with leading chipmakers.
The company has invested more than NT$37.09 billion (US$1.16 billion) in Taiwan since 2019. It operates 54 facilities in Taiwan serving the semiconductor industry.
Air Liquide supplies essential industrial and specialty gases like oxygen and helium. These materials are critical to chip production, where even small variations can affect performance and yields.
As chipmaking advances, demand for high-precision materials has grown alongside the AI boom. The company said it is expanding capacity to support next-generation semiconductor technologies.
Air Liquide has also invested about NT$15.97 billion in Taiwan to build three on-site gas production plants supporting advanced 3 nm and 2 nm manufacturing. These facilities help meet the needs of TSMC’s cutting-edge production lines.
Beyond Taiwan, the company is scaling operations across Asia to capture rising demand. It recently opened the world’s largest molybdenum-based precursor plant in Hwaseong, South Korea, a key hub for Samsung Electronics.
