Air Liquide to invest over $170M in Indiana to supply SK hynix U.S. HBM fab

Investment and scope

As part of a long-term contract, Air Liquide will invest over 170 million US dollars to build, own and operate two production units in Indiana to deliver ultra-pure gases to SK hynix’s first U.S. fab. The units will supply large volumes of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, hydrogen and other industrial gases to the company’s advanced chip packaging facility.

Operations and timing

By installing the two state-of-the-art production units at the customer’s site, the Group will ensure a continuous, high-quality supply directly to the customer’s manufacturing lines. The new units will be commissioned at the end of 2028.

Strategic rationale

Next-generation memory chips such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) require increasing quantities of high-purity gases and stringent clean environments; advanced packaging stacks multiple memory layers to raise performance and efficiency. Air Liquide says the investment reinforces its leadership as a major supplier to the U.S. semiconductor industry and builds on its long-term global partnership with SK hynix, including a recent milestone investment in South Korea.

Customer and company statements

Choonhwan Kim, EVP and Head of Global Infrastructure at SK hynix: “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 at Air Liquide: “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.”