South Korea's Doosan, Lotte to invest more in chip materials

South Korea’s Doosan Corp, an industrial group, and Lotte Energy Materials, a circuit foil maker, are increasing investment in chip materials as AI demand drives capacity expansion across semiconductor supply chains.

Doosan said in a filing it will spend 244.5 billion won (US$166 million) this year on copper clad laminate, or CCL, a material used in printed circuit boards.

The company said its main South Korean plants were running above 100% utilization, while its China plant reached 89% utilization.

Doosan also recently announced a 180 billion won (US$122 million) CCL plant in Thailand that is due to start operating in the second half of 2028.

Lotte Energy Materials said it will invest 49 billion won (US$33.3 million) to lift annual AI circuit foil capacity to 16,000 tons next year from 3,700 tons, with production centered at its Iksan plant, which is running at 90% utilization.

🔗 Source: The Korea Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

These investments are driven by record prices and a formal partnership

CCL capacity expansion follows a severe supply shortage, as Korean import prices rose 74.5% year over year to a record US$20,728 per ton in March 1.
The two South Korean companies have a formal partnership to develop and supply materials for AI infrastructure 2.
Lotte supplies Doosan’s electronics materials unit with its industry-first “4th generation” hyper very low profile (HVLP) copper foil. It reduces signal loss in next-generation AI accelerators, the chips used to train and run AI models 3.
The partnership builds a more coordinated supply chain for high-performance circuit boards used in AI data centers and network switches, which direct traffic inside computer networks 2.

Doosan is broadening its semiconductor push beyond CCL

Doosan’s CCL spending is part of a wider move away from heavy industry toward semiconductors, robotics, and energy 4.
The company is also adding to its semiconductor lineup with Doosan Tesna, a back-end test subsidiary that handles chip testing and packaging after wafers are manufactured 5.
Doosan is the preferred bidder for SK Siltron, a silicon wafer maker described as the world’s fifth-largest wafer manufacturer 5. Its enterprise value is estimated at about 4 trillion won (US$2.8 billion). The 70.6% stake for sale implies a deal range of 2 trillion won (US$1.36 billion) to 3 trillion won (US$2.04 billion) 5.
Linking wafers, chip packaging materials, and back-end testing could improve Doosan’s bargaining position with chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix 5.