Merck opens new semiconductor materials facility in Korea

Merck opened a semiconductor materials production facility in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, Thursday, to supply molybdenum precursors to nearby chipmakers. The facility will combine the materials with Merck’s delivery systems and services as part of a local-for-local supply approach. Merck said the integrated solution is intended to support high-volume manufacturing and improve process efficiency and material utilization. CEO Benjamin Hein said the company plans to supply customers later this year.

The facility will produce molybdenum dioxide dichloride, a specialty precursor used in chemical vapor deposition and atomic layer deposition.

Merck said its integrated solution can increase material utilization to 99 percent.

Bing Han said molybdenum could expand from NAND flash memory applications to DRAM and logic semiconductors.

Merck declined to disclose the facility’s investment amount and production capacity, citing customer confidentiality.

Hein said Merck will also announce the opening of a major bioprocessing center in Daejeon.

Published Oct 22, 2026 10:43 am KST

New electronics CEO shows commitment to Korean market

Merck's new molybdenum production site in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of Merck Korea

Merck opened a new production facility for key materials used in semiconductor deposition in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, Thursday, underscoring its commitment to expanding its presence in Korea's chip industry and strengthening a local-for-local supply chain.

According to the company, the new facility produces molybdenum precursor solutions used in semiconductor manufacturing. New Merck Electronics CEO Benjamin Hein, Head of Thin Films Business Bing Han and other company executives attended the opening ceremony, while North Chungcheong Province Gov. Shin Yong-han delivered a congratulatory video message. This marks Hein's first visit to Korea since his appointment as Merck's Electronics CEO in May.

During a press conference a day before the opening ceremony, Hein said customers increasingly want integrated solutions backed by local support, requiring closer cooperation between Merck's materials business and its delivery systems and services business.

"What customers expect is that you provide an integrated solution. They don't just want to buy the precursor. They don't just want to have the package. They don't just want to have the delivery system. They don't want to buy services from somebody else. They expect us to actually deliver one solution that's integrated," Hein said.

"Customers expect us to be here. We cannot support their needs from the U.S., from Japan, from elsewhere. You have to have local execution because you could drive within one hour to the fab. If there's an issue, you could easily solve it on the ground. … So that's a really good example of our local-for-local approach, where we bring two critical capabilities together, right where our customers need them.”

Merck Electronics CEO Benjamin Hein speaks on the company's new semiconductor material facility during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

At the facility, Merck will produce a range of molybdenum precursors, including molybdenum dioxide dichloride, a specialty precursor used in chemical vapor deposition and atomic layer deposition processes. The precursors will be supplied to nearby chipmakers as part of an integrated solution combining the materials with Merck's CHEMKEEPER Vapor 200 delivery system.

Merck said the solution will support high-volume semiconductor manufacturing by combining its materials business with delivery systems, metrology and inspection capabilities, improving process efficiency and increasing material utilization to 99 percent.

Molybdenum is gaining market attention as chipmakers increasingly adopt 3D NAND architectures that stack memory cells vertically. Chipmakers have traditionally used tungsten for metal electrodes that control the operation of memory cells, but increasingly require materials that offer lower electrical resistance a as semiconductor structures become more complex and space becomes limited.

While molybdenum is currently being adopted mainly in NAND flash memory, Han said its applications could expand to DRAM and logic semiconductors. Han said molybdenum offers advantages over tungsten in increasingly smaller semiconductor structures because it can eliminate the need for a high-resistance barrier film, allowing more space for electrical conduction.

Merck declined to disclose the investment amount and production capacity of the new facility, citing customer confidentiality, but Hein said solutions produced at the facility will be supplied to customers later this year.

Merck said the Eumseong facility will play an important role in advancing its local-for-local approach, customer collaboration and advanced semiconductor materials manufacturing as Korean customers develop increasingly complex chip designs.

“We need to speed it up and accelerate especially in Korea, so that we can respond to our customers’ needs of the day after tomorrow,” Hein said. “Even if only 50 percent of the aspirations of the Korean chipmakers come true over the next five years, it will be a massive growth. For us, it’s a super attractive market."

Hein also noted that Merck will also announce the opening of a major bioprocessing center in Daejeon.

默克公司周四在忠清北道阴城郡开设了一家半导体材料生产厂，旨在为附近的芯片制造商供应钼前驱体。该工厂将把这些材料与默克的配送系统和服务相结合，以实现本地化供应。默克表示，这一集成解决方案旨在支持大批量生产，并提高工艺效率和材料利用率。首席执行官本杰明·海因表示，公司计划于今年晚些时候开始向客户供货。

该设施将生产二氯化钼，这是一种用于化学气相沉积和原子层沉积的特种前体。

默克公司表示，其集成解决方案可将材料利用率提高到 99%。

韩冰表示，钼的应用范围可以从 NAND 闪存扩展到 DRAM 和逻辑半导体。

默克公司以客户保密为由，拒绝透露该工厂的投资金额和产能。

海因表示，默克公司还将宣布在大田开设一家大型生物加工中心。

发布于2026年10月22日上午10:43（韩国标准时间）

新任电子产品公司首席执行官展现了对韩国市场的承诺

默克公司位于韩国忠清北道阴城郡的新钼生产基地 / 图片由默克韩国公司提供

默克公司周四在忠清北道阴城郡开设了一家新的半导体沉积关键材料生产厂，这凸显了该公司致力于扩大其在韩国芯片产业的影响力，并加强本地供应链的决心。

据该公司称，新工厂生产用于半导体制造的钼前驱体溶液。默克电子新任首席执行官本杰明·海因、薄膜业务负责人韩冰及其他公司高管出席了开幕仪式，忠清北道知事申容汉发表了祝贺视频致辞。这是海因自今年5月就任默克电子首席执行官以来首次访问韩国。

在开幕式前一天的新闻发布会上，海因表示，客户越来越希望获得本地支持的集成解决方案，这就需要默克公司的材料业务与其交付系统和服务业务之间更紧密的合作。

海因说：“客户期望的是一个集成解决方案。他们不只是想购买前期产品，不只是想拥有产品包，不只是想拥有交付系统，也不想从其他人那里购买服务。他们期望我们真正提供一个集成的解决方案。”

“客户希望我们能在这里提供服务。我们无法从美国、日本或其他地方满足他们的需求。必须实现本地化执行，因为客户只需一小时车程即可到达工厂。如果出现问题，也能在现场轻松解决。……这正是我们‘本地服务本地化’策略的绝佳例证，我们将两项关键能力整合在一起，满足客户的需求。”

默克电子首席执行官本杰明·海因周三在首尔举行的新闻发布会上谈到了公司新建的半导体材料工厂。（韩国时报 南贤宇 摄）

在该工厂，默克将生产一系列钼前驱体，包括二氯化钼，这是一种用于化学气相沉积和原子层沉积工艺的特种前驱体。这些前驱体将作为集成解决方案的一部分，供应给附近的芯片制造商。该集成解决方案将这些材料与默克的CHEMCEEPER Vapor 200输送系统相结合。

默克公司表示，该解决方案将通过结合其材料业务与输送系统、计量和检测能力，支持大批量半导体制造，提高工艺效率，并将材料利用率提高到 99%。

随着芯片制造商越来越多地采用垂直堆叠存储单元的3D NAND架构，钼正日益受到市场关注。芯片制造商传统上使用钨作为控制存储单元运行的金属电极，但随着半导体结构变得越来越复杂，空间也越来越有限，他们越来越需要电阻更低的材料。

韩先生表示，虽然钼目前主要应用于NAND闪存，但其应用范围有望扩展到DRAM和逻辑半导体领域。他指出，在日益小型化的半导体结构中，钼相比钨具有优势，因为它无需高阻阻挡层，从而为导电腾出更多空间。

默克公司以客户保密为由，拒绝透露新工厂的投资金额和产能，但海因表示，该工厂生产的解决方案将于今年晚些时候供应给客户。

默克公司表示，随着韩国客户开发出越来越复杂的芯片设计，阴城工厂将在推进其本地化战略、客户合作和先进半导体材料制造方面发挥重要作用。

“我们需要加快步伐，尤其是在韩国，这样才能满足客户未来的需求，”海因说道。“即使未来五年韩国芯片制造商的愿景只有50%得以实现，也将是巨大的增长。对我们来说，这是一个极具吸引力的市场。”

海因还指出，默克公司也将宣布在大田开设一家大型生物加工中心。