ASML Operates First Overseas Joint R&D Center
Chooses Korea to Secure Next-Generation Lithography Technology
Samsung Electronics Strengthens Position as No.1 Memory Company
SK Hynix Recycles Hydrogen Gas with ASML
Enhancing ESG Impact through Eco-Friendly Technology Development
Netherlands-based ASML's decision to build a research and development (R&D) center with Samsung Electronics and to develop hydrogen gas recycling technology with SK Hynix was made possible by the long-standing trust relationship with Korean companies. There was also a calculation that partnering with Korea, the world's number one in memory semiconductors, would help advance extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology.
This is the first time ASML has jointly operated an R&D center overseas with a semiconductor customer. The semiconductor industry views ASML's investment in Korea, the world's leading memory semiconductor country, as based on a strategic judgment that partnering with Korea would be advantageous for securing next-generation lithography technology. Samsung Electronics also benefits by being able to secure the latest EUV utilization technology needed for next-generation memory development early, thereby strengthening its ultra-gap competitiveness.
There is also anticipation that the establishment of this R&D center will act as a catalyst for creating and growing the domestic ecosystem related to next-generation lithography equipment development. A semiconductor industry official said, "It is expected to contribute to the growth of domestic equipment and material partners as well as semiconductor talent development," adding, "This will also lead to securing national semiconductor competitiveness."
Samsung Electronics has regarded securing ASML's EUV lithography equipment as essential to enhancing ultra-fine process competitiveness and has maintained a close relationship with ASML since 2020. During this period, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the Netherlands in 2020 and last year to discuss ways to strengthen business cooperation with ASML's management. Samsung Electronics is also a shareholder of ASML, holding 1,580,407 shares (0.4% as of the end of September).
ASML also worked to strengthen relations by visiting Samsung Electronics' semiconductor hub at the Hwaseong campus in November 2020. In November last year, Peter Wennink, ASML's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the 'New Campus' in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which includes the Korean branch office building, a training center, and a remanufacturing center for parts repair, showing his friendship with Chairman Lee.
SK Hynix, having solidified its relationship with ASML over time, has now decided to jointly develop hydrogen gas recycling technology for EUV with ASML. Hydrogen gas helps maintain a vacuum state inside the EUV equipment and removes contaminants when the equipment is in use. It also serves a cooling function. Currently, used hydrogen gas is incinerated, but the goal of both companies is to develop technology to capture it and recycle it as power through fuel cells.
Starting next year, SK Hynix will also participate in the next-generation EUV development project jointly conducted by ASML and the Belgian semiconductor research institute IMEC. This move aims to strengthen ultra-fine process competitiveness amid the full-scale development of high-performance semiconductors for the artificial intelligence (AI) era. A semiconductor industry official said, "This cooperation will not only reduce power consumption but also contribute to carbon reduction," expressing expectations that "there will be positive effects from an ESG perspective."
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