Air Liquide invests $70m to support electronics industry expansion in Texas

Air Liquide has invested nearly $70m in two industrial gas plants in North Texas to supply ultra-high purity nitrogen and oxygen to the growing electronics industry.

The $70m will support the expansion of two existing manufacturing facilities and will be used to build, own, and operate additional onsite plants and systems at a new manufacturing site within the region.

Operations and supply are expected to begin in Q2 2023 at the existing facility and in 2025 at the new site.

Michael Graff, Executive Vice-President of Air Liquide, said the Group is pleased to support its electronics industry customers as they endeavour to expand their manufacturing footprint in Texas.

"This investment illustrates Air Liquide's ability to meet the stringent, high-purity gas and advanced material needs of electronics manufacturers wherever they operate," he added.

The dynamic growth of the electronics industry globally has been boosted by the rapid adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence, advancements in smartphones and 5G technology, and automotive electronics components.

Air Liquide has supported the industry for over 50 years and, in 2022, Air Liquide Electronics generated €2.5bn in revenue by designing, manufacturing and supplying ultra-high purity gases and advanced materials to the industry.

The US Government's semiconductor commitment

In August (2022), President Biden signed the $52bn Chips and Science Act into law to strengthen American manufacturing and place the US as a frontrunner in the semiconductor market, competing with the likes of China.

March (2023) saw the Biden-Harris Administration launch the first CHIPS for America funding opportunity for manufacturing incentives to begin to restore the US semiconductor market.

As part of the CHIPS and Science Act, the Department of Commerce is overseeing $50bn to revitalise the US semiconductor market, including $39bn in semiconductor incentives.

Read more: Biden-Harris Administration launches first CHIPS Act funding opportunity

According to the US Semiconductor Ecosystem Map, released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in March (2023), over $210bn of new private investments have been announced across 19 states since spring 2020.

Along with many other details of the US semiconductor market, the map shows over 50 new semiconductor ecosystem projects and 44,000 new high-quality jobs to support the semiconductor ecosystem.

Read more: SIA map highlights growing semiconductor activities in the US