BASF plans to increase production capacity for advanced semiconductor materials at its Kuanyin site in Taoyuan, Taiwan, alongside improvements to quality analysis and an expansion of its Innovation Center. Chemical Engineering reported that the German group had signed a letter of intent with Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, linking the investment to its longer-term support for the island’s semiconductor industry.
The project is intended to meet growing global requirements for materials used in leading-edge chip manufacturing, including process nodes below 2 nanometres. According to the report, the shift towards these technologies is increasing demand for advanced, high-purity speciality chemical formulations. BASF’s Electronic Materials business will broaden its technical and analytical capabilities at Kuanyin as part of the expansion, with a focus on semiconductor technologies supporting artificial intelligence applications.
BASF expects the investment to strengthen local manufacturing, quality assurance and technical services. The company said those improvements would help it provide a more dependable supply of semiconductor materials and respond more quickly to customers’ technical needs. It also intends to work more closely with industry partners on developing next-generation materials. These are stated objectives of the investment; the report gives no investment value, additional capacity figure or completion timetable.
Taiwan became the strategic base for BASF’s global Electronic Materials operations in 2025. Gops Pillay, president of BASF’s Global Operating Division, linked that decision to Taiwan’s importance in semiconductor innovation and manufacturing, citing its advanced process technologies and integrated industrial ecosystem. He presented the expansion as a reflection of the company’s confidence in the market’s long-term growth.
BASF’s Electronic Materials business has operated in Taiwan for more than two decades, Chemical Engineering reported. Its portfolio includes high-performance process chemicals and tailored formulations for advanced semiconductor and display manufacturing, as well as specialised metal systems for consumer electronics. Jens Liebermann, who leads the global Electronic Materials business and chairs BASF Taiwan, said stronger local production, innovation and technical services were intended to help materials development keep pace with customers’ changing technology requirements while improving supply-chain resilience.