Recent Trends by Key Market Players to Boost the Electronic Chemical Industry

BASF and Electronic Chemicals

After 1954, BASF has been an active collaborator with Korea. BASF is the largest foreign investor in the Korean chemical industry and operates seven production plants worldwide in Korea. BASF operates a Suwon R&D facility and four Korean Technical Development Centers. BASF's headquarters in Seoul is located in the Asia-Pacific zone. In 2016, BASF had a sales volume of around 1.1 billion euros for clients in Korea and, as of 31 December 2016, employed 1,105 employees in Korea.

Currently, in Yeosu, Southern Jeolla Province in South Korea, BASF is the leading global chemical firm with operations undertaken by a new manufacturing plant for electronic materials. The new facility produces ultrapure NH4OH (electronic ammonia water) in the manufacturing processes used for semi-conductivity and displays. The plant is now also increasing its production of advanced cleaning and etching mixtures. The modern facility includes a state-of-the-art research laboratory and ultra-pure services to meet future needs of leading electronics clients on the Korean and foreign market.

The plant is situated along the southwest coast of Korea and features BASF's exclusive, state-of-the-art production facilities, including top quality monitoring and quality control systems. The key products from Yeosu are built-in single-digit nodes with fewer than 10 nanometers for the next generation of microchips. The Plan includes Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters in Seoul, BASF Electronic Materials Central, founded in 2013, and founded the Central Electronic Materials R&D Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

Mitsui Chemical and it’s innovations

In order to build a new enterprise for the ICT materials, Mitsui Chemicals will make this connection available here for Elephantech to invest in Elephantech and provide the Nagoya works in Nagoya, Prefecture of Aichi. Elephantech is planning to reach the completion dates for a mass production line using inkjet technology in September 2020 to produce flexible printing plates (PCBs; maximum capacity: 50.000m2/month). This help is planned by the company. The construction of an inkjet production line will also be carried out, which will allow for new manufacturing processes.

Mitsui Chemicals and Elephantech, together are pursuing inkjet-based printing and additive manufacturing technologies and materials production. With this, businesses aim to extend the reach of output possibilities. Mitsui Chemicals handles a wide variety of business operations with its focus fields of companies Mobility, Health Care, and Food & Packaging. The business is also aggressively promoting open innovation, such as by forming ties with entrepreneurs in an attempt to develop new companies and products.

Collaborative contribution by Sumitomo Chemical and Zymergen

Sumitomo Chemical and Zymergen recently revealed their multi-annual collaboration to launch new specialty materials. These two companies collaborate to produce innovative technologies that are capable of meeting market demands in high-tech industries. With about 20 percent of the company's IT-related sales revenues, Sumitomo Chemical is the leading supplier to major electronics firms. The company's market experience will ensure materials fulfill design criteria for electronic devices of the next decade. In order to connect new material into the best products, Sumitomo Chemical offers access to key markets, a reputation for quality and excellence as well as application knowledge. Sumitomo Chemical and Zymergen will be able to develop specialized materials, including optical display films, hard coatings, flexible circuits of electronics, and adhesive materials.

Today electronics manufacturers and customers are looking for lighter, smaller, and powerful devices with customized displays and new features – all at a lower cost. For these next-generation electronics, electronics manufacturers are increasingly demanding materials because the present petrochemical toolbox is limited, costly, and challenging to produce. Sumitomo Chemical has opted to partner with Zymergen to create a sustainable future through biology and to find new and better molecules, which will put affordable, high-performance specialist materials on to the market to serve the electronics industry better. In this way, it is able to fulfil these demands more effectively. This collaboration will exploit the innovative technology of Zymergen to access previously unreachable sources of molecular diversity based on sustainable and renewable resources, which brings together developments in artificial intellects, robotic laboratory automation, and cutting-edge genomics.

About the Author(s)

Princy A. J

Princy holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. University at Chennai, India. After a successful academic record, she pursued her passion for writing. A thorough professional and enthusiastic writer, she enjoys writing on various categories and advancements in the global industries. She plays an instrumental role in writing about current updates, news, blogs, and trends.