I remain invested in sk Hynix.
SK Hynix is getting serious about expanding capacity and is placing a huge order for EUV systems with ASML in the Netherlands. The South Korean memory giant intends to upgrade its factories by the end of 2027 and significantly increase capacity for DRAM and NAND.
In a mandatory stock exchange announcement by SK Hynix, which can be viewed via South Korea's DART system (Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System), the company confirms its intention to purchase EUV systems from ASML for EUR 6.913 billion. It is remarkable how quickly this is supposed to happen: The money will be available by the end of December 2027 and the order should be completed within two years. It was already suspected last fall that SK Hynix could place an order for up to 20 EUV systems.
Ordering exposure machines for memory factories for almost seven billion euros in one go is quite unique so far. This is because memory manufacturers, unlike logic manufacturers such as TSMC, have been much more cautious and slower to switch to EUV, often exposing only a handful of layers - if at all - with EUV and then continuing to work with classic DUV scanners. But with increasing progress, this will also become more common in the future - and SK Hynix is now preparing for this. However, the company was already one of the manufacturers that tried out EUV early on, and it has been used in its systems since 2021.
There are many machines for 6.9 billion euros
There are no precise details about what exactly is being ordered; they are part of the contracts and the negotiated prices. As in every industry, there are discounts or service packages for certain volumes under certain conditions to round things off. Theoretically, there could be almost 30 EUV systems for 6.9 billion euros, with the price of the latest NXE:3800E version now likely to be just over the 200 million euro mark.
However, if the order also includes one or two high-NA EUV systems, of which SK Hynix is already using one of the latest types in testing, the order will be significantly different: These machines are more likely to cost 350 to 400 million euros.
One of SK Hynix's new factories on the mega construction site in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster is likely to be one of the targets for the exposure units. Huge factory buildings are being built here, which will produce huge amounts of memory in six fully equipped clean rooms on many floors in the future. The EUV imagesetters are also likely to be used in the M15X factory extension in Cheongju and the M16 fab in Icheon.
