Air Liquide breaks ground on its new Korean Krypton and Xenon plant

Air Liquide has broken ground for a new state-of-the-art high purity Krypton and Xenon plant in Korea to meet the needs of its customers in the semiconductor and space industries.

The construction of the new Krypton and Xenon purification unit in Cheonan, Chungnam province began in March 2024. Leveraging the Group's expertise in extreme cryogenics, the plant will use Air Liquide’s proprietary technologies, and is scheduled to be operational in 2025. The new plant will produce high purity Krypton and Xenon to meet the stringent requirements of our customers.

Krypton and Xenon are rare gases mainly used in advanced technologies such as semiconductor or space industries. In the semiconductor industry, they are critical gases to enable etching high aspect ratio vertical holes for the stacking up of 3D NAND memory chips. In the space industry, Krypton and Xenon are used for the electric propulsion of satellites, a technology that reduces their weight and improves their efficiency compared with other technologies. 

This unit will strengthen the rare gases supply chain in Korea and Asia by facilitating a stable supply of rare gases for Air Liquide customers. By enhancing the reliability of the supply for these high value-added molecules, particularly within the electronics and space industries, the company will be better equipped to address the growing demand for domestically-sourced high-purity rare gases.