Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) is building a new 40,000 t/y plant for 100% industrial hydrogen peroxide (IHP) at a site owned by a subsidiary in Taiwan. The facility is expected to start up at the beginning of 2023.

The Japanese company said the investment is part of its plans to further develop its business with super-pure hydrogen peroxide (SPHP) used in semiconductor production processes, with the goal of participating in the long-term global growth of the semiconductor industry.

SPHP is used primarily as a cleaning, etching and abrading agent in semiconductor wafer and device manufacturing processes, which are expected to see long-term growth in line with  to future advancements in 5G, IoT, cloud computing, AI and other technologies.

The company sees demand as also as rising on the back of the trend to increasing miniaturization in semiconductor wiring processes, where greater volumes of SPHP featuring even higher quality will be needed.

MGC currently operates three SPHP production sites in Japan – at Yokkaichi, Yamakita and Saga – along with two in South Korea, three in the US and one each in Singapore and Taiwan.