# Electronic specialty gases: Production

Why a handful of plants per gas supply the world

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/production/

What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.

| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **World capacity** | not published | TECHCET expected specialty gas supply to tighten in 2025-26 against demand; suppliers are expanding regionally and Chinese and Korean start-ups seek scale. | TECHCET via Semiconductor Digest (2022; 2025) |
| **World output** | not published as a tonnage | Market value about $6.3-6.5 billion in 2025 (TECHCET; TechInsights). US neon sales 110 million litres, krypton 1.5 million litres, xenon 0.1 million litres (2025). | TECHCET (2025); USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Capacity utilisation** | not published | Helium allocations were cut to about half of normal volumes for some Asian chip customers after Ras Laffan halted in 2026. | IUMI (Jun 2026) |
| **Concentration** | high for each gas; top-3 suppliers hold most NF3 and WF6 (indicative); helium top-3 countries about 85% | The large industrial gas groups (Linde, Air Liquide, Air Products, Nippon Sanso) dominate bulk and distribution; specialty molecules are concentrated in Korean, Japanese and Chinese specialists. | helium tile (USGS derived); indicative |
| **New capacity** | regional expansion by majors; Chinese and Korean start-ups scaling (TECHCET 2025) | Helium: Qatar expansion up to 42 million m3/yr (about 2027), Blue Spruce 22 million m3/yr (2028). Indian fab demand will begin with Micron Sanand (live) and Tata-PSMC Dholera (up to 50,000 wafers a month, FY2029-30). | TECHCET (2025); helium tile; India Briefing (2026) |

#### Top producing countries

- **South Korea**: SK Specialty and Hyosung in NF3 and WF6 (indicative)
- **Japan**: Kanto Denka, Resonac, Nippon Sanso, Mitsui Chemicals
- **China**: Peric and Huate Gas rising; large rare-gas purification since 2022
- **United States and Europe**: Linde, Air Products, Air Liquide, Merck/EMD (Versum), Matheson
- **Qatar and United States (helium)**: Qatar 33%, US 43% of 2025 helium output
- **Ukraine (neon, before 2022)**: nearly half of world neon
 Indicative; TECHCET (2025); indicative; TECHCET via Semiconductor Digest (2022); TECHCET (2022, 2025); helium tile (USGS); Conway (2023)

#### Largest producers: global

| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Air Liquide** large electronics division | France | not published | 2025 | [TECHCET (2025)](https://www.airliquide.com/) |
| **Linde** on-site fab gas plants | UK/US/Germany | not published | 2025 | [TECHCET (2025)](https://www.linde.com/) |
| **Nippon Sanso (Matheson)** | Japan | not published | 2025 | [TECHCET (2025)](https://www.nipponsanso-hd.co.jp/) |
| **Air Products** | US | not published | 2025 | [TECHCET (2025)](https://www.airproducts.com/) |
| **Resonac** | Japan | not published | 2025 | [TECHCET (2025)](https://www.resonac.com/) |
| **SK Specialty (formerly SK Materials)** large NF3 producer (indicative) | South Korea | not published | 2022 | TECHCET via Semiconductor Digest (2022) |
| **Merck KGaA (EMD Electronics, Versum)** | Germany | not published | 2022 | [TECHCET via Semiconductor Digest (2022)](https://www.emdgroup.com/) |
| **Peric (CSSC 718th Institute)** largest Chinese NF3 maker (indicative) | China | not published | 2022 | [TECHCET via Semiconductor Digest (2022)](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/peric) |

#### Largest producers: India

| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Linde India** electronic specialty gas production in India not confirmed in sources used | India | not published | 2026 | [Indicative](https://www.linde.in/) |
| **INOX Air Products** electronic specialty gas production not confirmed | India | not published | 2026 | Indicative |
| **Air Liquide India** electronic specialty gas production not confirmed | India | not published | 2026 | Indicative |

India has no confirmed producer of NF3, WF6 or semiconductor-grade rare gases and imports all helium. Semicon 2.0 (Rs 1,27,500 crore, about $13-15 billion, approved in July 2026) adds incentives for industrial gases and specialty chemicals, and Merck has said Indian fabs need local ultra-pure chemicals and gases (Indian Infrastructure, Sep 2026; India Briefing, 2026).

#### Position by region

| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| **US** | Fab build-out under the CHIPS Act lifts demand; Asian fabs in the US still import specialty gases from Asia for consistency (TECHCET 2025). |
| **EU** | F-gas Regulation and PFAS restriction proposals cover some etch gases (indicative). |
| **India** | Full import dependence; Semicon 2.0 incentives for gases; first fabs from 2029-30. |
| **China** | Building domestic NF3, WF6 and rare-gas supply under export-control pressure. |
| **Japan** | Key supplier of fluorinated gases; 2019 export curbs on HF to Korea showed leverage (indicative). |
| **Middle East** | Qatar helium halt in 2026; Hormuz is a chokepoint for helium. |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/routes/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/links/index.md)