The Ukrainian crisis has put the supply of electronic gases in the international market at risk. China has made technological breakthroughs in three rare gases: neon, krypton and xenon.
Recently, the situation in Russia and Ukraine has remained tense. techcet, an American electronic materials market research company, pointed out that more than 90% of the semiconductor grade neon supply in the United States comes from Ukraine, and there are related semiconductor material supply chain security problems.
U.S. National Security Council officials urged U.S. chip companies to find alternative sources of these materials. The White House warned the chip industry to decentralize the supply chain to prevent Russia from retaliating against the sanctions threatened by the United States by limiting the supply of key raw materials.
Some chip manufacturers are already examining the supply chain to understand the possible consequences of the conflict in Ukraine. A person from a chip manufacturing company who declined to be named admitted that he had begun to investigate the supply of neon and other gases, some of which came from Ukraine.
Ukraine mainly produces neon, krypton and xenon, which are key materials for exposure and etching processes in the semiconductor industry. Statistics show that Ukraine supplies 70% of the global demand for neon, 40% of krypton and 30% of xenon.
the price of rare gases continues to rise, and China’s electronic gas technology is mature
Neon gas is the main component of lithography gas. In the semiconductor process, neon gas can be used for KrF and ArF laser exposure. In the argon / fluorine / neon gas used in ArF excimer laser, neon gas accounts for more than 96% of the laser gas mixture.
The cost of electronic gas accounts for 5% – 6% of the total cost of IC materials, which is not large, but it largely determines the performance of semiconductor devices. Neon, xenon and krypton are indispensable process gases in semiconductor manufacturing industry, and the stability of supply chain is extremely important.
Some analysts pointed out that once there is a conflict between Ukraine and Russia, neon and krypton shipments will be affected to varying degrees . At present, the global core shortage is still continuing. If these gases are cut off, the core shortage crisis will be further exacerbated. In terms of terminal products, the automotive industry, which needs a large number of power management chips and power semiconductors, will face a new material shortage crisis.
Affected by the strong demand of the chip industry, the price of industrial electronic gas also continued to rise. According to the price tracking data of Baichuan Yingfu, the price of neon gas (content 99.99%) in China has increased from 400 yuan / m3 in October 2021 to more than 1600 yuan / m3 at present. krypton gas and xenon gas also continued to rise. According to the Zheshang Securities Co.Ltd(601878) Research Report, on February 11, the ex factory / market price of krypton gas was 297500 yuan / m3 and 33000 yuan / m3 respectively, and the ex factory / market price of xenon gas was 296000 yuan / m3 and 322500 yuan / m3 respectively.
Neon, krypton and xenon are by-products of the iron and steel industry and are deeply bound to the iron and steel industry, but purification of these rare gases requires a certain technical threshold. Ren Lu, a senior analyst in China’s special gas market, said that China is a big steel country in the world. The purification technology of these rare gases has achieved a breakthrough, and the production process is relatively mature. It is no longer a technology that can “stick China’s neck”. In extreme cases, if the supply chain of Russia and Ukraine is interrupted, China can organize emergency production to ensure China’s supply.
if the international rare gas supply is blocked, China has alternative opportunities
Sinolink Securities Co.Ltd(600109) believes that if there is a supply risk of neon, krypton and xenon in the future, it will take more than half a year for downstream wafer factories to seek alternative suppliers, which will face a new risk of short supply. China Hunan Kaimeite Gases Co.Ltd(002549) , Guangdong Huate Gas Co.Ltd(688268) can supply lithography gas . Hunan Kaimeite Gases Co.Ltd(002549) supply relevant rare gases, such as neon, krypton, xenon and mixed gases; Guangdong Huate Gas Co.Ltd(688268) supply krypton neon mixture, fluorine neon mixture and other gases for lithography. If the supply of neon and krypton gas in Ukraine is blocked, China Hunan Kaimeite Gases Co.Ltd(002549) , Guangdong Huate Gas Co.Ltd(688268) is expected to benefit.
According to the statistics of securities times · databao, in addition to Hunan Kaimeite Gases Co.Ltd(002549) , Guangdong Huate Gas Co.Ltd(688268) , the main businesses of Jiangsu Nata Opto-Electronic Material Co.Ltd(300346) , Suzhou Jinhong Gas Co.Ltd(688106) in A-Shares also include electronic gas. Other industrial gas stocks include Jinfan technology, Hubei Heyuan Gas Co.Ltd(002971) . Most industrial gas concept stocks have fallen since 2022, and luxury technology, Jiangsu Yoke Technology Co.Ltd(002409) , Hangzhou Zhongtai Cryogenic Technology Corporation(300435) , Guangdong Huate Gas Co.Ltd(688268) and other stocks have fallen by more than 20% in the year.
