The Strait of Hormuz crisis is beginning to impact a less visible but critical part of the semiconductor supply chain: chemical materials. After weeks of tension over gases, solvents, and raw materials linked to oil and gas, attention is now shifting to hydrofluoric acid used in chip manufacturing, especially in wafer etching and cleaning processes.
According to The Elec, South Korean manufacturers of hydrofluoric acid for semiconductors, including Soulbrain, ENF Technology, and Foosung, are already purchasing anhydrous hydrogen fluoride imported from China, with prices rising close to 40% compared to the start of the year. This increase is expected to be passed on to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix between late June and July, during a period when DRAM, NAND, and HBM memory are already experiencing price pressures due to demand from artificial intelligence.
From Sulfur to Hydrofluoric Acid
The chain explaining this rise may seem distant from the chip itself, but it is direct. Anhydrous hydrogen fluoride is produced from fluorite and sulfuric acid. In turn, sulfuric acid depends on sulfur, largely obtained as a byproduct of oil and natural gas refining. If sulfur supply is strained by disruptions in the Middle East, the impact could eventually reach semiconductor factories.
The Elec links the price increase to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the disappearance of over 30% of the global sulfur supply. This movement reportedly triggered a surge in sulfuric acid prices, which subsequently drives up anhydrous hydrogen fluoride prices. SunSirs, a Chinese raw materials data provider, reported that in mid-April, the domestic price of sulfuric acid in China was around 2,100 yuan per ton—more than double the price at the beginning of the year, according to data from South China Morning Post and The Elec.
The problem worsens because China is the world’s largest producer of sulfuric acid and, lacking sulfur supplies from the Middle East, has begun prioritizing its internal demand. Sulfuric acid is not only used in semiconductors; it’s also essential in fertilizers, refining, steelmaking, copper and nickel smelting, battery materials, and other industrial processes. When a fundamental raw material becomes more expensive, the pressure spreads across many supply chains simultaneously.
In South Korea, the impact is felt further down the chain. The country can produce sulfuric acid using byproducts from non-ferrous metal smelting, but it still lacks sufficient local capacity for anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. According to The Elec, around 90% of the materials used by Korean semiconductor chemical manufacturers come from China. This dependency leaves Samsung and SK Hynix exposed to external price hikes just as the memory market is under intense pressure.
A Small Material with a Huge Role
Hydrofluoric acid is one of those materials that rarely make headlines in tech news, but without it, advanced chips cannot be manufactured. It is mainly used in etching processes, where it helps remove specific layers of material from the wafer, and in cleaning to eliminate oxides or metallic contamination on surfaces.
In the semiconductor industry, standard hydrofluoric acid is prepared by diluting anhydrous hydrogen fluoride with ultrapure water to a concentration of 49% HF and 51% water. When mixed with ammonium fluoride, it produces BOE, or Buffered Oxide Etchant, a solution used in fine patterning processes because it allows for slower, more uniform etching.
The figures highlight the scale of the issue. The Elec estimates that South Korean semiconductor plants consume about 60,000 tons of hydrofluoric acid annually and between 90,000 and 100,000 tons of BOE. This is not a marginal input; it’s a recurrent material in manufacturing processes for DRAM, NAND, logic chips, and other devices.
Memory is especially sensitive because it is produced in large volumes and involves highly repetitive processes. Each wafer undergoes numerous steps—deposition, lithography, etching, and cleaning. If a fundamental chemical becomes more expensive, the impact per unit may seem small, but it multiplies across millions of wafers and long-term supply contracts.
This does not necessarily mean that the final price of RAM or SSDs will automatically rise due to hydrofluoric acid costs. In semiconductors, prices are also influenced by supply, demand, inventories, contracts, manufacturing capacity, and product mix. However, this adds an extra cost in a chain already strained by AI, HBM, data center demand, and strategies by major manufacturers to prioritize higher-margin products.
Memory Was Already Under Pressure
The memory market did not need another problem. Demand for AI is rapidly absorbing HBM, server DRAM, and enterprise SSDs. This pressure reduces flexibility in production lines and affects less profitable segments, such as certain consumer modules or older memory types.
Samsung and SK Hynix play central roles in this chain. SK Hynix leads much of the supply of HBM for AI accelerators, while Samsung seeks to strengthen its position in advanced memory and maintain its large capacities in DRAM and NAND. Any increase in costs for key materials occurs at a delicate moment, just as data center clients are securing capacity and PC, smartphone, and server manufacturers are revising purchase projections.
This situation also echoes 2019, when Japan imposed export restrictions on critical materials to South Korea, including high-purity hydrofluoric acid. That crisis accelerated South Korea’s efforts to reduce external dependencies, but the new episode shows that material autonomy is harder to achieve than it seems. The origins of pressure change, but the vulnerable point remains similar: ultra-pure chemicals essential for semiconductor manufacturing.
The local alternative is underway, although it won’t prevent the immediate price increases. BGF EcoMaterials, through its subsidiary Fluorine Korea, is investing about 150 billion won in a hydrofluoric acid plant in Ulsan. The project aims for an annual capacity of 50,000 tons—roughly half of South Korea’s domestic demand—with completion expected in 2026. The Elec reports mass production in the fourth quarter.
Until that capacity comes online, Korean manufacturers will continue relying heavily on China for much of their anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. Japan is also taking steps to reduce exposure: The Elec notes that providers like Daikin Industries and Stella Chemifa have been in talks with BGF to secure supplies.
The industry takeaway is clear. The semiconductor supply chain can no longer be analyzed solely through nodes, lithography, or advanced packaging capacity. Chemicals, gases, and intermediate minerals matter just as much as manufacturing machines. A disruption in sulfur can affect sulfuric acid, which in turn raises hydrofluoric acid costs—and ultimately impacts the accounts of Samsung and SK Hynix.
The Strait of Hormuz once again demonstrates that the digital economy rests on a much broader physical foundation than often acknowledged. AI needs GPUs, memory, and data centers, but also oil, gas, sulfur, acids, ultrapure water, maritime logistics, and chemical plants. A failure in any of these links can impact consumers where they least expect—in their RAM or SSD costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which material is becoming more expensive for the chip industry?
The focus is on anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, a raw material used to produce semiconductor-grade hydrofluoric acid.
Why does the Strait of Hormuz affect hydrofluoric acid?
Because tensions over sulfur supply drive up sulfuric acid prices, which is needed to produce anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. That material is then transformed into hydrofluoric acid for semiconductors.
Will Samsung and SK Hynix pay more for these chemicals?
According to The Elec, South Korean suppliers are already purchasing raw materials at higher costs and will pass the increase to Samsung and SK Hynix between late June and July.
Will this lead to higher RAM and SSD prices?
It could add pressure to prices, though it’s not the only factor. Memory prices are already strained by AI demand, HBM, servers, and enterprise SSDs.
via: thelec.kr