When TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix are all snapping up supplies, electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid has become an irreplaceable "chemical key" for AI chip manufacturing.

一、What Happened? — Electronic Grade Hydrofluoric Acid: The "Precision Chemical Tool" for Semiconductor Manufacturing

1. What is Electronic Grade Hydrofluoric Acid?

Electronic Grade Hydrofluoric Acid (EG-HF) is one of the wet electronic chemicals with the largest usage and most rigid demand in integrated circuit manufacturing. It is prepared by purifying anhydrous hydrofluoric acid and then absorbing it into ultrapure water. Leveraging the unique chemical reaction between fluoride ions and silicon dioxide (the core substrate of wafers), electronic grade hydrofluoric acid plays an irreplaceable role in chip manufacturing, primarily used for wafer cleaning (removing natural oxide layers and trace residual impurities) and etching (achieving precise patterning and structural formation on the wafer surface).

Based on purity and application scenarios, electronic grade hydrofluoric acid is classified into multiple grades such as EL, UP, UPS, UPSS, and UPSSS (i.e., Semiconductor G5 Grade). Among these, UPSSS is the current highest grade, mainly used for 12-inch wafers in processes of 55nm and below, with significantly higher technical barriers and product pricing than lower-grade products. The global leaders in G5 grade hydrofluoric acid mainly include Japan's Stella Chemifa, Kanto Chemical, and South Korea's Soulbrain and ENF Technology.

2. Application Scenarios and Market Size:

From the perspective of end demand structure, semiconductor manufacturing is the largest consumption direction for electronic grade hydrofluoric acid. According to the H-share prospectus of Binzhou Chemical Group and data from Frost & Sullivan, the overall market size of electronic grade hydrofluoric acid in China in 2025 is approximately 4.25 billion RMB. Among this, the capacity, output, and revenue of G5 (semiconductor grade) products in China reached 135k tons, 74.9k tons, and 658 million RMB respectively. With the continuous expansion of capacity for AI chips, memory chips, and logic chips, this market is expanding at a double-digit growth rate.

3. Three Recent Catalysts that Suddenly Increased Market Attention:

Catalyst 1: Cost-driven price increases caused by a surge in upstream raw material prices. Since March 2026, geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have led to a tightening of global sulfur supply, causing the price of sulfuric acid (the core raw material for producing anhydrous hydrofluoric acid AHF) to soar, directly pushing up the cost of anhydrous hydrofluoric acid. A UBS report (Figure 5) shows that since 2026, the price of anhydrous hydrofluoric acid in China has shown a significant upward trend overall. Cost pressures are transmitted layer by layer along the chain of "sulfur → sulfuric acid → anhydrous hydrofluoric acid → electronic grade hydrofluoric acid," ultimately manifesting as the 20%-30% terminal price increase disclosed by DuoFluoDuo.

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