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POSCO Chemical and OCI produce hydrogen peroxide, a critical material necessary for semiconductor processing
2022.10.20
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Attendees celebrating the construction of P&O Chemical’s H₂O₂ plant. (From the left) P&O Chemical CEO Jong-kook Kim, Dongwoo Fine-Chem Vice President Tae-kyung Seok, POSCO Holdings Head of Eco-friendly Future Materials, Byung-ok Yoo, OCI CEO Teak-joung Kim, POSCO Chemical CEO Kyung-zoon Min, and Gwangyang city Mayor, In-hwa Jung.
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POSCO Chemical CEO Kyung-zoon Min giving a commemorative speech at the completion ceremony for P&O Chemical’s H₂O₂ plant.
- The plant will produce high-purity H₂O₂ for cleansing semiconductors to meet the soaring demand from the Korean semiconductor industry.
- First in the nation to use hydrogen extracted from gas generated during the steelmaking process, advancing economic efficiency and sustainability.
- POSCO Chemical will broaden its business portfolio and enter new business with high-value-added advanced chemical materials.
POSCO Chemical and OCI have set out to produce hydrogen peroxide, which is an essential material in semiconductor manufacturing processes. As this is the first attempt in Korea to use hydrogen extracted from the coke oven gas that is generated during the steelmaking process as raw material, the move is expected to give the semiconductor industry a competitive advantage with enhanced economic feasibility and considerations for the environment.
P&O Chemical, a joint venture created by POSCO Chemical and OCI to deliver advanced chemical materials, held a completion ceremony for a new hydrogen peroxide plant in the National Industrial Complex, Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do, on October 20, 2022. The event was attended by officials related to the P&O Chemical business, including POSCO Chemical CEO Kyung-zoon Min, OCI CEO Teak-joung Kim, P&O Chemical CEO Jong-kook Kim, and POSCO Holdings Head of Eco-friendly Future Materials, Byung-ok Yoo, and Gwangyang city Mayor, In-hwa Jung.
P&O Chemical invested KRW 145.9 billion on 41,530㎡ of land in the National Industrial Complex, Gwangyang, and constructed a plant with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is an oxidizing agent that has bleaching and disinfecting effects. The new plant will manufacture electronic-grade products that are to be used as vital materials in the cleaning and etching process of semiconductor wafers and display substrates, and industrial products for general bleaching and disinfection.
This will enable P&O Chemical to provide a stable supply of highly economical, nature-friendly, high-purity H₂O₂ to domestic semiconductor manufacturers with the escalating demand for H₂O₂, thanks to the large-scale expansion of production lines and an increased number of processing stages.
With a new addition to their manufacturing plants, P&O Chemical became the first in the nation to produce H₂O₂ using raw materials obtained from coke oven gas (COG)*, a by-product of the steelmaking process. Compared to the traditional LNG extraction method, raw materials can be recycled cutting down on carbon emissions by approximately 29%, thus making the new method a more economic and environmentally friendly option. P&O Chemical will be supplied with COG from steelmaking by connecting the factory with Gwangyang Steelworks with a pipe network. The factory will then extract and purify the hydrogen from COG and re-supply COG back to steelworks as a source of heat.
*Coke oven gas (COG): COG is a by-product of coal carbonization to produce coke in the steel industry, which is primarily made up of hydrogen and methane.
With the entry into the H₂O₂ business, POSCO Chemical has broadened its product portfolio from battery materials to include advanced chemical materials, such as semiconductors, gaining a new impetus for growth. POSCO Chemical has also maximized the added value of its carbon materials business by producing chemical products using steel by-products as a resource.
OCI can also now reinforce its market dominance by producing high-purity H₂O₂ for semiconductor manufacturing processes with the technical skills they have accumulated so far. OCI has been producing H₂O₂ since 1979, and the new plant is expected to boost production from 75,000 tons to 125,000 tons.
At the completion ceremony, POSCO Chemical CEO Kyung-zoon Min said, “We have taken our business model a step further towards high value-added materials. I am very pleased that we are able to contribute to the development of Korean industries with a stable supply of essential semiconductor materials through close cooperation with OCI.”
OCI CEO Teak-joung Kim said, “Today, P&O Chemical takes its first step on the road to leadership in the high-value-added materials market through this partnership between POSCO Chemical and OCI. As we move forward, we will strengthen our strategic collaboration based on OCI’s technological competitiveness, quality, and safe operations, so that P&O Chemical will grow into a global provider of advanced precision chemical materials.”
P&O Chemical is a joint venture that was founded in July 2020 with a 51% stake by POSCO Chemical and a 49% stake by OCI. In addition to H₂O₂, the company also plans to offer advanced chemical materials including pitch coating for anode materials. POSCO Chemical and OCI will continue to engage in various high-value-added materials businesses based on their competitiveness in raw materials and advanced technology.
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[Reference] P&O Chemical’s H₂O₂ production process
