Investing $8 billion, SK Hynix plans to purchase EUV lithography machines from ASML

SK Hynix announces over $8 billion investment to purchase EUV lithography machines from Dutch photolithography giant ASML. This is one of the largest equipment investments by the Korean memory chip manufacturer in its efforts to dominate the AI memory market.

According to the company’s announcement, SK Hynix confirmed on March 24th that it will purchase ASML EUV scanners, with a total purchase amount of approximately 11.95 trillion Korean won (about $79.7 million), accounting for 9.97% of the company’s total assets by the end of 2024. The transaction period is about two years, covering equipment procurement, installation, and upgrades, expected to be completed by December 2027.

SK Hynix stated that this move aims to meet the growing demand for AI memory, represented by HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), while also expanding production of general DRAM. The large order further highlights ASML’s core position in advanced process equipment.

This procurement is also closely tied to SK Hynix’s strategic goal to accelerate the development of the sixth-generation (1c) DRAM process. Under the competitive pressure from Samsung, which has already deployed the 1c process, catching up and surpassing in process nodes remains a priority for SK Hynix.

Process Race: 1c Technology Anchors HBM4E and Next-Generation Products

According to Yonhap News Agency, this EUV equipment purchase is likely directly related to SK Hynix’s plan to accelerate the 1c process, which is expected to be applied to key next-generation products such as HBM, DDR5, and LPDDR6.

As previously reported by Chosun Ilbo, SK Hynix currently uses 1b process technology to produce HBM4 core chips and plans to switch to 1c DRAM process for HBM4E products, while logic chips will continue to rely on TSMC’s 3nm process.

In contrast, Samsung has already adopted the 1c DRAM process in HBM4 products, maintaining a lead in process advancement and posing direct competitive pressure on SK Hynix.

Expansion Acceleration: M15X Second Clean Room Opens Two Months Early

Beyond equipment procurement, SK Hynix’s capacity expansion is also accelerating.

According to Dong-A Ilbo, the company recently opened the second clean room at the Cheongju M15X wafer fab ahead of schedule, about two months earlier than the original May plan. Currently, both clean rooms are in full operational readiness.

Under the plan, SK Hynix will rely on M15X to meet the demand for next-generation HBM until the first wafer fab at the Yongin Semiconductor Park is completed and put into operation by 2027.

EUV Investment Continues to Increase: Fleet Size to Double

SK Hynix has already made early moves in the EUV field. According to ET News, the company was the first to deploy High-NA EUV equipment at the Icheon M16 plant for memory mass production, becoming the first manufacturer to introduce this technology into storage chip mass production. The report also states that SK Hynix plans to add about 20 more EUV machines by 2027, doubling its current EUV fleet.

Each EUV machine costs between 300 billion and 500 billion Korean won. Based on this, SK Hynix’s total investment in EUV is expected to exceed 6 trillion won. Such a large-scale equipment investment reflects the strategic determination of this memory giant to compete in next-generation memory manufacturing.

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