TECHCET — the electronic materials advisory firm providing business and technology information— announced that the total electronic gas market will reach $6.25B for 2021, more than 7% above 2020 revenues. Over the next several years, steady growth is expected thanks to growing demand for chips and fab expansions worldwide.
As highlighted in TECHCET’s recently published 2021 Critical Materials Report on Electronic Gases – Markets & Supply-Chains,
• 2021 Bulk Gas segment ~ US$1.71B up 3.3% from US$ 1.66 B
• 2021 Specialty Gas segment ~ US$ 4.53 up 8.4% from US$ 4.19 B
• Market drivers: computing and automotive
• Key risks: geopolitics, shrinking supply-chains relative to demand
The four big gas companies, Linde, Air Liquide, Nippon Sanso Holdings, and Air Products experienced, slowing from COVID-19 early in 2020 in industrial gases and engineering & installations while making progress in Healthcare and Electronics. In contrast, sales in the electronics gas sector, including EMD Electronics (Merck/Versum), Showa Denko, and Messer, grew 8% in 2020 and will have a strong 2021 due to high demand for chips in all electronics applications, including computing, mobile devices, flat panel displays, and automotive.
“Over the next 3-5 years, electronic gases will experience high growth due to the ramp of new leading-edge Logic and Memory technologies and continued growth in the display market,” stated Jonas Sundqvist, TECHCET’s Sr. Analyst. “At present, there is moderate growth in PV due to the ongoing switch from carbon to solar-based energy production, which will contribute to Specialty and Bulk gas demand. 3DNAND vertical scaling continues to drive the demand of WF6, NF3, and heavy rare gases.”
Concerning bulk gases, one of the most significant supply-chain risks is Helium. COVID-19 negatively impacted overall Helium sales due to a reduction in He-lifting (balloon) and medical applications (including MRI), temporarily alleviating shortages in the market. As the pandemic subsides and semiconductor expansions begin to ramp, the helium supply-chain may once again experience tightness. The key will be whether sources in Russia will come online in time to alleviate the strain. Now at a 2% share of total helium production, Russia is expanding capacity that will represent approximately 25% of total WW helium capacity by 2025. This is relative to the US share, which will fall from 46% to 25% by 2025.
