ADEKA's New Core Research Institute, the "Semiconductor Innovation Center," Fully Operational

ADEKA Corporation (President and CEO: Hidetaka Jotsuma, Headquarters: Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter ADEKA) announces the full operation of its new research building, the "Semiconductor Innovation Center" (hereinafter the Center), constructed at the ADEKA Technology Center Kuki (Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture, formerly Kuki Development Research Laboratory).

Semiconductors are strategic materials of the modern era, with global investment rapidly increasing and the market projected to expand to 1.5 trillion yen by 2026, ahead of schedule. Japan holds a competitive advantage in semiconductor manufacturing through its equipment and materials, with Japanese companies accounting for over 50% of the global market share in semiconductor materials, serving as a source of technological innovation. On the other hand, driven by the advancement of highly advanced ICT societies such as AI and data centers, there is a growing need for technological innovation in semiconductors, including higher integration and stacking, necessitating a paradigm shift across the entire supply chain.

ADEKA has been providing key materials essential for advanced semiconductors, such as high-k dielectric materials (ALD materials) used in the deposition process of advanced semiconductors, and photoacid generators (PAGs) for chemically amplified resists (CARs) and metal compounds for metal oxide resists (MORs) used in advanced photolithography processes.

Furthermore, the semiconductor materials business is a profit center that will drive our future profit growth, and we have made aggressive upfront investments totaling approximately 52.1 billion yen over the past five years in research and development, manufacturing, and personnel.

The Center is a core research institute that consolidates and expands the semiconductor materials development laboratory, formerly located at ADEKA Technology Center Tokyo (Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, formerly Oguhigashi Central Development Research Laboratory), and research laboratories related to post-process steps within the environmental materials development laboratory. The R&D area has been significantly expanded to 2.7 times the previous size. The cleanroom, exceeding 850 square meters on a single floor (2.5 times the previous size), is equipped with multiple product evaluation equipment, including ALD deposition equipment, enabling simultaneous parallel development of advanced themes and their early commercialization. Through this, we aim to further expand our strength in front-end materials and expand into new materials for post-processes, with our Center in Japan and ADEKA Group bases in South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States collaborating to respond more rapidly to customer needs.

ADEKA positions the Center as a core base for expanding its semiconductor materials business and plans to concentrate management resources, including doubling research personnel, expanding R&D facilities, and increasing production capacity. By fiscal year 2035, we aim to become a comprehensive semiconductor materials manufacturer, with an operating profit of 32.5 billion yen in this field (over 40% of our total operating profit).

Overview

Name

ADEKA Semiconductor Innovation Center

Location

20 Showa-numa, Shobu-cho, Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture, within ADEKA Technology Center Kuki

Total Construction Cost

Approximately 12 billion yen

Scale

7-story steel structure

Building Area: 1,990 sq m / Total Floor Area: 11,545 sq m

Main Facilities

Research laboratories, cleanrooms, analysis rooms, conference rooms, etc.

Construction

Obayashi Corporation

Schedule

Start of Construction: April 2024 / Completion: April 2026 / Opening: June 2026

Research Personnel

Approximately 150 people (as of July 1, 2026)

Features

▶ Click here for the image video!: https://youtu.be/SRgiQI3RxMM

This is a next-generation R&D center dedicated to advanced semiconductor materials, embodying the concepts of "fusion of technologies," "health and safety of researchers," and "environmental consideration," equipped with overwhelming scale and advanced evaluation and analysis facilities.

It features a skip-floor "Spiral Stage," an open innovation area, and collaborative laboratories where related themes intersect, creating an environment that promotes cross-departmental technological fusion and synergy. The facility is equipped to select the optimal experimental environment according to material characteristics, responding to the increasingly stringent and diverse demands of advanced semiconductors.

The biggest highlight is the cleanroom exceeding 850 square meters (2.5 times the previous size), where, as a materials manufacturer for advanced semiconductors, we have multiple ALD deposition equipment and evaluation/analysis instruments to further accelerate development speed. The experimental area has been significantly expanded to 2.7 times the previous size, and further expansion of evaluation equipment and personnel is planned.

Additionally, the design balances the safety of R&D personnel with reduced environmental impact through optimal ventilation and exhaust systems.

Exterior of "ADEKA Semiconductor Innovation Center" Skip-floor structure "Spiral Stage"

ALD deposition evaluation equipment Collaborative laboratory

Single-floor 850 sq m cleanroom Office areas accommodate over 350 people across departments

Experimental area expanded 2.7 times Entrance

Examples of Developed Products

ADEKA's long-standing strengths in ALD materials and lithography materials have primarily contributed to semiconductor miniaturization in front-end processes. In the future, for advanced devices such as HBM and advanced logic ICs, structural changes (e.g., backside power supply, advanced packaging like CoWoS) will require a paradigm shift in post-process materials. While maintaining our existing strengths, we will expand our domain to create new materials that contribute to technological innovation in post-processes by integrating our technologies, including ALD materials, specialty resins used in fields like electronics and mobility, and surfactants, aiming to become a comprehensive materials manufacturer in advanced semiconductors.

[Front-end Process] <Enhanced> <Next Generation>

Deposition

<Enhanced> ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) materials... High-k dielectric materials, Low-k, peripheral materials,

<Next Generation> ASD (Atomic-Selective Deposition) materials, etc.

Lithography

(Exposure)

<Enhanced> Photoacid generators for advanced CAR (Chemically Amplified Resist), Metal compounds for MOR (Metal Oxide Resist)

<Next Generation> Peripheral materials, etc.

Etching

<Next Generation> ALE (Atomic Layer Etching) materials, etc.

[Post-process] <Next Generation>

Heat Dissipation

Thermal sheets, sintered copper paste, etc.

Plating Alternative

Conductive copper paste, copper complex ink, etc.

Bonding/Adhesion

Adhesives for hybrid bonding, encapsulants, low-dielectric glass bonding sheets/resins, NCF (Non-Conductive Film) for advanced packaging, adhesives for CPO (Co-Packaged Optics), etc.

Opening Ceremony Held

Prior to the full operation of the Semiconductor Innovation Center, an opening ceremony was held on June 30th for the R&D personnel working at the Center. The ceremony was attended by our President Jotsuma, executives, R&D personnel, and numerous distinguished guests, including Mayor Nobutoshi Kishi of Kuki City.

Opening Ceremony (Held on June 30, 2026)

【Comments】

● Hidetaka Jotsuma (President and CEO, ADEKA Corporation)

For approximately 50 years since ADEKA entered the semiconductor field, we have continuously provided materials that contribute to the cutting edge of each era to our customers. I am delighted to be able to open this core research institute at this point in our journey. It is important to aim for the direction we should take through dialogue with customers and the market, without being fixated on our own technology, and to steadily pursue results. I look forward to R&D that will further strengthen the technologies and trust we have cultivated.

● Nobutoshi Kishi (Mayor of Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture)

We express our gratitude to ADEKA for their long-standing R&D activities in Kuki City, contributing to the development of the local economy and job creation. The opening of this highly important facility to accelerate R&D of advanced semiconductor materials is a source of great joy and pride for our city. I sincerely hope that this Center will become a powerful engine for ADEKA's goal of "enriching people's lives" and that wonderful products that surprise the world will be born one after another in this land of Kuki, and we will work to create an environment that supports corporate activities.

ADEKA President Jotsuma giving a speech at the opening ceremony Mayor Kishi of Kuki City giving a congratulatory address at the opening ceremony

Supplementary Note 1: About ADEKA's Semiconductor Materials Business

The start of our semiconductor materials business dates back to the 1980s when we provided high-purity chlorine, derived from our company's founding business of electrolysis, as etching gas to domestic semiconductor manufacturers at the time. Since then, we have maintained the world's No. 1 global market share for high-k dielectric materials for advanced semiconductor memory for many years, and we have competitive products primarily in front-end processes of semiconductor manufacturing, such as advanced lithography materials (photoacid generators).

In April 2025, we established the "Semiconductor Materials Division," a specialized organization for semiconductor materials, by consolidating R&D, sales, planning, and marketing departments. We have strengthened our system to respond promptly to customer needs through dialogue with device, resist, and equipment manufacturers, in collaboration with our bases in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

Supplementary Note 2: About the ADEKA Group

The ADEKA Group is a global company that provides valuable raw materials to a wide range of markets, with chemicals, food, and life sciences as its core businesses. With the corporate slogan "Add Goodness" (Everything can be made better), since its founding in 1917, the company has aimed to realize a sustainable society by providing products that support people's lives. For example, we contribute to a richer life in unseen ways through semiconductor materials that lead the advanced ICT society, resin additives that contribute to reducing environmental impact through vehicle lightweighting, and commercial margarine that helps reduce food loss by extending freshness.