Samsung, ASML invest $760 mn in joint EUV research facility

Samsung Electronics President Kyung Kye-hyun, left, and ASML CEO Peter Wennink [Photo by Yonhap]

Yoon’s visit to the ASML headquarters in Veldhoven, along with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands [Photo by Joint Press Corps]

Samsung Electronics Co. and Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML Holding N.V. agreed to jointly invest 1 trillion won ($758 million) in building a facility in South Korea to research next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment technology during Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the Netherlands.

The duo signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a joint research and development (R&D) center on Tuesday following Yoon’s visit to the ASML headquarters in Veldhoven, along with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. The two leaders met with business representatives from the Korean and European chipmaking industries.

Yoon’s visit was the catalyst for chip industry players from both countries to seek collaborative opportunities. For ASML, it is the company’s first time building an R&D center overseas in collaboration with a chipmaker. The Dutch company also signed an MOU with another Korean chipmaker, SK hynix Inc., for the development of recycling technology for hydrogen gas used in EUV.

The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands also signed an MOU outlining the establishment of the Korea-Netherlands advanced semiconductor academy. Amid a global shortage of semiconductor professionals, the two governments agreed to provide on-site learning opportunities for graduate students from both countries through this program, offering them opportunities to use cutting-edge semiconductor production equipment.