[Featured Stock] Chemtronics Achieves Korea's First 99.999% Purity 'Milestone'... Expected to Capture Global EUV Market

KemtroNics is showing strong performance. The news that it mass-produces key raw materials for semiconductor extreme ultraviolet (EUV) processes appears to be influencing its stock price.

As of 3:10 PM on the 7th, it is trading at 23,700 KRW, up 12.32% from the previous day.

KemtroNics announced that it will expand its annual production capacity of 'ultra-high purity propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA)' from 10,000 tons to 25,000 tons by 2025. PGMEA is a key raw material that accounts for 70-80% of the photoresist (PR) used in semiconductor lithography processes. The PGMEA developed by KemtroNics achieves an ultra-high purity of 99.999% (5N) and is used to manufacture EUV PR. Leveraging its proprietary synthesis and purification know-how, the company is on the verge of mass-producing 5N-grade PGMEA after about four years.

This means that the solvent for EUV photoresist (PR), which Japan had restricted exports of, is now being mass-produced and supplied. This is expected to strengthen the supply chain for the domestic semiconductor industry. EUV PR has been dominated by Japanese companies such as JSR, Shin-Etsu, and TOK. The Japanese government included EUV PR in its export restrictions in 2019 to impact the Korean semiconductor industry.

The expanded applications of PGMEA are also advantageous. It can be used not only as a solvent for conventional PR but also as a solvent for process auxiliary materials such as bottom anti-reflective coatings (BARC) and spin-on hardmasks (SOH). The PGMEA market is expected to grow from 926.2 billion KRW in 2022 to 968.7 billion KRW in 2023, reaching approximately 1.0172 trillion KRW in 2024. KemtroNics is preparing quality testing procedures by supplying samples to companies that deliver semiconductor PR to end customers. Once final customer approval is obtained within this year, deliveries will begin in the first half of next year.

It is reported that the company has enhanced commercial viability while securing eco-friendliness. PGMEA contains a potentially toxic substance called 'isomer (beta-isomer)'. Global companies require isomer concentrations below 10 ppm (parts per million), but KemtroNics has reduced this to 1 ppm. The company stated that global semiconductor firms have begun referencing KemtroNics' figures in establishing isomer evaluation standards.