POSCO, Fostering New Growth Engines through Development and Commercialization of Eco-Friendly Industrial Gases

Agreement Signed for Eco-Friendly Industrial Gas Manufacturing Technology R&D with Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, RIST, and TEMC
Plan to Commercialize Semiconductor Etching and Refrigerant Gases with Low Ozone Layer Depletion Risk

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] POSCO is actively fostering new growth engines by developing and commercializing eco-friendly industrial gases.

On the 1st, at the headquarters of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) in Daejeon, POSCO's Head of Industrial Gas and Hydrogen Business Division, Byungok Yoo, KRICT President Mihye Lee, RIST (Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology, Pohang) President Seong Yoo, and TEMC CEO Wonyang Yoo attended the launch of a four-party consortium and signed a memorandum of understanding on "Research and Development Cooperation for Manufacturing Technology of Low Global Warming Potential Etching Gases and Refrigerant Gases for Semiconductors and Displays."

Among industrial gases, etching gases used in the semiconductor industry are key materials that precisely remove unnecessary parts of circuits during semiconductor manufacturing. Refrigerant gases are major materials widely used not only in household refrigerators and air conditioners but also in industrial sites.

However, the etching gases currently used in the industry have a high global warming potential, resulting in significant carbon credit costs, and usage regulations are also being considered. Refrigerant gases containing components with high ozone depletion potential are scheduled to be globally banned from 2030.

Due to these environmental regulations and the global ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management trend, demand for eco-friendly etching gases and refrigerant gases with low global warming potential and low ozone depletion risk is expected to increase rapidly across industries including semiconductors, displays, and home appliances.

According to the industry, the global market for low global warming potential etching and refrigerant gases, which was about 9 trillion KRW in 2019, is expected to expand to approximately 15 trillion KRW by 2023, growing at an average annual rate of about 13%. Additionally, domestically, more than 90% of the demand for eco-friendly etching gases currently depends on imports from countries such as the United States and Japan, making localization urgent.

Under the agreement, KRICT will develop core technologies for eco-friendly gases, RIST will conduct scale-up research for the developed technologies, and POSCO and TEMC plan to produce gases based on the developed technologies and commercialize them by 2025, supplying them to domestic and international semiconductor manufacturers.

Furthermore, POSCO has decided to participate in carbon resource utilization research previously conducted in cooperation with KRICT and RIST. POSCO will advance its Carbon Capture & Utilization (CCU) technology by separating carbon monoxide from blast furnace off-gases and converting it into raw materials needed for chemical product production.

Byungok Yoo, Head of POSCO's Industrial Gas and Hydrogen Business Division, said, "POSCO currently sells surplus gases generated from steelmaking processes for industrial use. Through this collaboration, we expect to expand our business area into the eco-friendly gas market, where demand is projected to increase significantly, and create new business opportunities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.