Fujifilm to invest €25m in Belgium site
Fujifilm Corporation will install new production facilities for CMP slurries and advanced semiconductor materials, as well as enhancing existing facilities for photolithography materials at its production site in Zwijndrecht, Antwerp, Belgium.
The €25 million investment is to help meet increasing demand for automotive and industrial semiconductors in Europe and respond to the high-quality requirements of its customers. It is also part of a wider global growth plan to invest a total €1billion in semiconductor materials over the three years from fiscal 2024 to 2026.
CMP slurries contain abrasive particles in chemically reactive solutions for removing surface irregularities from semiconductor wafers. By precisely removing excess material and planarising the wafer surface, CMP ensures best conditions for process steps, such as lithography, etching, and metal deposition. They are crucial for power electronics including SiC devices used in electric vehicles and renewable energy systems.
The new production capability in Belgium is in addition to existing CMP slurry production sites in Arizona, USA, Hsinchu and Tainan of Taiwan, Cheonan, South Korea, and Kikuyo Town, Kumamoto Prefecture. Fujifilm says this will create a production network of six locations, ensuring a more stable supply of CMP slurries.
The new CMP slurry production facilities and the enhanced developer production facilities are both scheduled to start operation in the spring of 2026.
