By Dimitri Rhodes
Sept 3 (Reuters) – Belgian chemicals group Solvay will more than double capacity for ultra-pure hydrogen peroxide in Taiwan by the end of 2026 to meet growing demand from the island’s semiconductor makers, the chemicals group said on Thursday.
The expansion comes as Taiwan’s chipmakers add capacity to meet AI-driven demand, with TSMC announcing in April a new 3-nanometer fab in its Tainan GIGAFAB.
The expansion at Shinsol Advanced Chemicals, Solvay’s 51%-owned joint venture in Tainan, Taiwan, will take annual capacity above 70,000 tonnes from 35,000 tonnes currently, Carlos Silveira, president of Solvay’s Peroxides business, told Reuters.
The chemical is used to clean semiconductor wafers during production, a process in which extremely low levels of contamination become increasingly important as chipmakers move to more advanced manufacturing technologies.
“Taiwan is the centre of the advanced nodes,” Silveira said, adding the additional capacity is expected to serve new demand on the island.
“Two new fabs of advanced nodes can very quickly consume this capacity.”
Solvay aims to at least triple the contribution of its electronics peroxide business within five to seven years, Silveira told Reuters. The unit accounted for 15% of total peroxides in 2025.
The company is investing in electronic-grade peroxide in Germany and is preparing to capture opportunities in the United States, Silveira said. It expanded capacity in China last year.
Market research firm Mordor Intelligence sees high-purity peroxides, including electronic-grades, to grow 5.31% annually through 2031, above the overall market’s 3.96% projected rate, driven by sub-5 nm semiconductor fabs in Asia-Pacific and North America.
Solvay produces the catalysts and chemistry used to make hydrogen peroxide as well as carrying out the purification needed for semiconductor applications, Silveira said.
(Reporting by Dimitri Rhodes in Gdansk)
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