TECHCET— the electronic materials advisory firm providing business and technology information— reports that the Electronic Gases market segment grew over 8% in 2022, reaching US$6.8 billion in global sales. Going into 2023, TECHCET is expecting a slight contraction of -2% in Electronic Gas revenues due to a slowdown in the overall semiconductor industry, at least through the first half of the year. Growth is expected to return in 2024 and will continue through 2027 with a 6.3% 5-year CAGR reaching US$9.2 billion, as highlighted in TECHCET’s most recent update to the Electronic Gases Critical Materials Report.
Tungsten Hexafluoride (WF6) and Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3) specialty gases have both faced supply shortages over the past several years. These gases both serve essential purposes in semiconductor manufacturing, as WF6 is used for depositing the W interconnect in NAND memory, and NF3 is the key gas used in the cleaning of process chambers. The supply chains of both gases are expected to continue facing constraints once new chip factories ramp in 2025- 2026. By 2024-2025, TECHCET expects a supply/demand imbalance for both gases given limited capacity.
Another gas on TECHCET’s “watch list” is Helium supply, which has been intermittently running short of demand for the past decade. The US BLM’s equipment interruptions and anticipated change of ownership concerns have caused unexpected interruptions of helium supply. Over the past year, the Russia War has further compounded helium supply-chain concerns as Gazprom’s plan to supply 26% of the market has been stalled by the war. Although there is a lull in demand this year, given the slow economy and semiconductor downcycle, the market could once again be in shortage if new sources do not come online in the next 12 months. Looking ahead, helium out of Alberta, Canada, could play a vital role in the market. Additionally, France has announced Europe’s first mobile helium recycling unit to be launched. Whether these new sources can come online before shortages start to surface again is unclear at this time.
Neon sourcing has also been a critical issue that TECHCET continues to monitor and assess. For more details on this and other Electronics Gas market segments, including profiles on key suppliers like ADEKA, Air Liquide, EMD, Entegris, Linde, Hansol Chemical, Gelest, Matheson/ Nippon Sanso Holdings, and more, go to: https://techcet.com/product/gases/.