We are an integral part of the semiconductor ecosystem. With our materials, the related delivery equipment and tools for metrology and inspection, we are a significant part of the value chain for semiconductor processing. Our broad and innovative product portfolio helps solve key industry challenges. In doing so, we place a special focus on high-performance chips needed for applications including artificial intelligence (AI). We provide our materials, systems and services to all major industry players. To this end, we work closely with our customers in the key regions of North America, Europe and Asia Pacific and are a reliable and stable partner with our global network of R&D, production and distribution sites.
After a cyclical downturn, the semiconductor market began to recover during the course of the reporting year 2024, driven mainly by the positive market development for semiconductor materials for AI chips and advanced nodes. Global semiconductor industry sales are expected to grow between 9% and 12% year-on-year up to 2027. To meet the expected growth in demand in the next few years, major semiconductor manufacturers are investing in ramping up their production capacities. Accordingly, we are continuously expanding capacities at our sites all over the world in lockstep with our customers’ plans.
We serve manufacturers of logic, memory and analog microchips. The evolution of AI and the unabated growth of data volumes in our digital world are setting ever tougher computing requirements for microchips. They need to be able to process (logic chips) and retrieve (memory chips) more data faster. The electronics industry is working on ever higher-performing devices with microchips that are smaller, faster and more efficient. Accordingly, advanced nodes are required with a higher transistor and memory cell density and more complex architectures (e.g. 3D stacking). Moreover, the most advanced packaging technologies, such as heterogeneous integration, are playing a significant role in further boosting system performance in semiconductors. Heterogeneous integration requires precise measurements of interconnects and components, leading to growing demand for innovative metrology and inspection tools alongside materials for front-end manufacturing (see the section on the acquisition of Unity-SC). Miniaturization, vertical stacking as well as heterogeneous integration require more and new process steps and, consequently, new material solutions for further densification.
We continuously strengthen our comprehensive portfolio in order to play a role in developing ever more sophisticated technologies, in doing so catering to the growing demand for cutting-edge microchips required in AI and high-performance computing. Due to this growing complexity, we need a broad portfolio and in-depth expertise to identify solutions that increasingly consist of innovations that build upon one another in a cumulative fashion. To this end, we rely on our Materials Intelligence™ – combining materials science and AI in an interdisciplinary and targeted way, with the objective of working with our customers to make this innovation process more efficient and reducing complexity effectively. As such, we are among the trailblazers when it comes to the next generation of logic and memory chips.
The Electronics business sector consists of the Semiconductor Solutions, Display Solutions (named Optronics since January 1, 2025) and Surface Solutions business units. Three cross-functional boards support the business units: the Technology Leadership Board, the Supply Chain Leadership Board and the Commercial Leadership Board. They define cross-sector standards, drive forward exchange on best practices, promote transparency, and therefore play a key role in our matrix organization.
In July 2024, we signed an agreement to divest the Surface Solutions business to Global New Material International Holdings Ltd. (GNMI) for an agreed purchase price of € 665 million (see Surface Solutions section).
Electronics accounted for 18% of Group sales in 2024, and its share of EBITDA pre (excluding Corporate and Other) was 15%. The majority of semiconductors and displays are manufactured in Asia. In 2024, Asia-Pacific generated 68% of Electronics’ net sales, with Europe and North America accounting for 29% of sales. Semiconductor Solutions accounted for 69% of our Electronics sales in 2024, while Display Solutions contributed 20% and Surface Solutions 11%.
Acquisition of Unity-SC, SAS
As the industry moves towards more complex and integrated systems, metrology and inspection tools are becoming increasingly important to enable precise semiconductor manufacturing, as they help reduce production costs and optimize yields. To enhance our capabilities in this area, we have acquired Unity-SC, SAS (Unity-SC), a provider of 3D optical metrology and inspection instrumentation for the semiconductor industry based in Montbonnot-Saint-Martin near Grenoble, France. The acquisition was completed on October 31, 2024 for a purchase price amounting to € 144 million within the meaning of IFRS 3 (International Financial Reporting Standards), plus additional payments linked to the achievement of milestones. This transaction expands our expertise and our portfolio. Moreover, it enables us to deliver process control solutions in advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration for microchips and their internal connecting structures, which are essential for manufacturing advanced semiconductors, especially for AI chips. Unity-SC metrology and inspection tools measure key parameters during wafer processing and packaging steps. By adding these metrology and inspection tools for manufacturing to our portfolio, we are gaining a key technology and can obtain further insights into how our materials can increase added value for our customers.
Semiconductor Solutions
As the largest business unit in terms of sales within our Electronics business sector, Semiconductor Solutions offers products and services for the semiconductor industry. We are developing materials and solutions for the next generation of semiconductor components – helping to make microchips smaller, faster, more powerful, and more sustainable.
A microchip undergoes a large number of process steps during fabrication, and each of these steps is enabled by specialized materials that are subject to tough requirements. We supply a strong portfolio of materials for every key process step, focusing in particular on wafer processing. Our expertise not only covers the materials themselves, but also how they are integrated during fabrication to make the final components.
Our Semiconductor Solutions business unit consists of the Thin Films, Formulations, Specialty Gases, and Delivery Systems & Services business fields.
- The Thin Films business field supplies solutions and products for our customers in the fields of dielectrics (organosilanes and spin-on dielectrics) and metallic materials. Thin film technology allows materials to be deposited and removed on an atomic level, enabling more layers, higher complexity and new architectures – all essential factors for AI applications.
- The portfolio of the Formulations business field is divided into the areas of Patterning and Planarization. It includes lithography products such as photoresists, anti-reflective coatings and materials for directed self-assembly (DSA). Additionally, we offer a range of cleans and selective etch chemistries that help improve the patterning process. The Planarization business encompasses materials for chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), which are essential for achieving the desired surface flatness and precision in semiconductor manufacturing.
- The Specialty Gases business field provides high-purity gases for semiconductor manufacturing. These gases are crucial for precise deposition, doping, etching, and cleaning during wafer processing. With a strong commitment to meeting the semiconductor industry’s stringent requirements, our Specialty Gases business supports the industry in the development of advanced electronic devices.
- The Delivery Systems & Services (DS&S) business field, with its systems business, develops and installs reliable delivery equipment to ensure the safe and responsible handling of specialty chemicals and gases for semiconductor manufacturing. At many of the industry’s sites, production facilities and delivery systems are operated and maintained by our MEGASYS® Total Gas and Chemical Services employees.
Display Solutions
Our Display Solutions business unit (named Optronics since January 1, 2025) controls light for imaging, processing, measurements, and inspection. We materialize light through display materials, optical technologies, and metrology. These include the businesses with liquid crystals (LC), display patterning materials (photoresists), materials for organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), and reactive mesogens. We support our customers in developing novel technologies beyond TV monitors for IT, mobile devices, the automotive industry, gaming, and other applications. Together with our customers, we are working in the field of AR/VR to expand the range of application scenarios to include optoelectronic technologies. Furthermore, we collaborate very closely with leading panel makers to develop next-generation products with LCD (liquid crystal display) technology for the electronics market.
Thanks to the acquisition of Unity-SC, the business unit now also offers optical metrology equipment (see the section on Unity-SC), making full use of its optical capabilities. Optical components are becoming increasingly important when it comes to meeting requirements for more computing power, higher bandwidth and faster data transmission. At Electronics, we develop optical technologies with the goal of enhancing the performance of electronic devices.
Surface Solutions
In our Surface Solutions business unit, we provide our customers with solutions that help them create functional and decorative surfaces of all kinds. We focus on markets for automotive coatings, cosmetics, and, to a smaller extent, industrial applications. With our portfolio of active ingredients, we enable cosmetics manufacturers to enrich their skin care products with moisturizing, protective or anti-aging effects. Moreover, our functional solutions serve many innovative applications, from dirt-repellent and easy-care surfaces to laser markings of plastic parts and cables.
Given our strategic focus on the electronics market and the advancement of future technologies, the Surface Solutions business is no longer at the core of what we do in Electronics. On July 25, 2024, we signed an agreement to divest the Surface Solutions business unit to GNMI, also known under the Chesir brand name. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of pearlescent pigments with sites in China and Korea. The agreement comprises the majority of the global production, sales and development activities of our Surface Solutions business unit. Its presence in Europe and North America would complement that of GNMI, which is represented in Asia. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025 and is subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions.