Air Liquide: major contract with SMIC, in Shenzhen

10-05-2009: Air Liquide has just signed a long-term contract with the leading integrated circuit foundry in China, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), for its new 200mm and 300mm wafer fabs in Shenzhen. Under the terms of the contract, Air Liquide will supply SMIC with carrier gases including nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, argon and compressed air, as well as specialty gases, with start-up scheduled early 2010. To support this contract and the development of the electronics industry in South China, Air Liquide will invest in various facilities and production units, with the first phase of this plan amounting to €13 million.

Founded in April 2000, SMIC is the world’s 3rd largest semiconductor foundry, and mainland China’s largest and most advanced foundry, providing integrated circuit foundry and technology services. In January of 2008, SMIC decided to invest US$1.58 billion to build two new production lines and a R&D centre in SGIZ, northeast of Shenzhen city.

Air Liquide and SMIC have a long-term partnership. Since 2001, Air Liquide has been supplying Electronic Specialty Gases (ESG) to SMIC’s fabs in China (in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and then Chengdu). In 2008, Air Liquide began supplying carrier gases to its 300mm wafer fab in Wuhan.