Air Liquide secures additional silane supply

Air Liquide has consolidated its strong position for silane supply with the announcement of a new long-term supply agreement with Renewable Energy Corporation (REC).

REC is a leading global manufacturer of silane, especially for its own polysilicon production needs, and under the terms of the contract Air Liquide will source a sizeable part of its silane requirements from the company - doubling its access to the gas.

Air Liquide has signed the major sourcing agreement, while keeping the ambitious 2000 tpy production expansion programme with its partner Denal.

Despite market pressures, the dual and sourcing policy will allow Air Liquide to serve its customers and partners worldwide and Christophe Fontaine, Vice-President Electronics Air Liquide Group, declared, “This new silane supply agreement with REC in the US, combined with our production expansion in Japan, demonstrates again Air Liquide’s commitment to provide reliable and differentiated global silane supply solutions to our customers.”

Silane (monosilane, SiH4) is a high purity gas and a key material used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, flat panel displays and photovoltaic products. The global market is growing at more than 25% per year thanks particularly to the booming demand in the solar panel market.

Air Liquide is currently the world leader for silane with more than 35% market share its leadership based on a strong position in the complete supply chain from production in Japan and sourcing from the US through regional filling and analysis centres, to total gas service teams for customers.