Henkel Expands Electronics Materials Investment in Korea, Bolstering HBM Packaging Material Development for Surging AI Semiconductor Demand

The Elec Inc. South Korea

Overview

German materials giant Henkel is expanding its investment in the electronics materials business in South Korea to meet the escalating demand for AI semiconductors. This includes reinforcing R&D personnel and strengthening technological capabilities. The company is developing packaging materials for next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), supplying key semiconductor packaging materials such as die attach paste, underfill materials, non-conductive pastes/films, encapsulants, and thermal interface materials (TIMs).

In Depth

Key Findings

Henkel, a leading German chemical company, has announced a significant expansion of its electronics materials business in South Korea, in response to the rapid growth of the AI semiconductor market and the consequent increase in demand for advanced packaging materials. This strategic reinforcement includes boosting research and development (R&D) personnel and further enhancing cutting-edge technological capabilities. Specifically, the company is focusing on developing essential packaging materials for next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), playing a crucial role in supplying key semiconductor packaging materials such as die attach paste, underfill materials, non-conductive pastes/films, encapsulants, and thermal interface materials (TIMs).

Technical & Economic Details

The performance of AI chips heavily relies on advanced packaging technologies that densely integrate multiple chiplets, including logic dies and HBM stacks. High-performance materials are indispensable for securely connecting these components and efficiently managing the heat generated during operation. Henkel’s HBM packaging materials are designed to address the following technical challenges: 1. Die attach pastes provide robust connections between chips and substrates, offering excellent thermal conductivity. 2. Underfill materials mitigate stress caused by thermal expansion coefficient mismatches between the chip and package, enhancing connection reliability. 3. TIMs maximize heat transfer from the chip to the heatsink, preventing AI chip overheating. These materials are critical for ensuring the long-term reliability and performance of chips in HBM’s multi-layer stack structures and advanced packaging solutions like CoWoS. Henkel’s investment aims to expand the supply capacity of these high-performance materials and maintain technological leadership.

Background & Context

The AI revolution is explosively increasing demand for high-performance servers in data centers and AI inference processing in edge devices. This has made advanced packaging technologies, which integrate advanced memory like HBM with AI processors, a bottleneck in the semiconductor supply chain, leading to a surge in demand for related materials. South Korea, home to major HBM manufacturers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, has become a central hub in the advanced semiconductor supply chain. Henkel’s expanded investment in South Korea is a strategic move to address this growing market and deepen collaboration with key customers. In the global semiconductor materials market, the stable supply of high-performance materials is crucial for the overall development of the AI industry.

Strategic Significance & Outlook

Henkel’s expanded investment in its electronics materials business in South Korea will play a significant role in supporting the sustained growth of the AI semiconductor market. Particularly, technological innovation and strengthened supply capabilities for HBM packaging materials will accelerate the development and mass production of next-generation AI accelerators. The company’s high-performance materials will directly contribute to improving the reliability, performance, and power efficiency of AI chips, thereby fostering the broader adoption of AI technologies. Moving forward, as AI technology continues to evolve, the demand for even more sophisticated packaging materials is expected to grow, making the role of material manufacturers like Henkel increasingly strategic.

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