Tata Electronics and Sumitomo Chemical Move to Localise High-Purity Semiconductor Materials for Dholera Fab

Tata Electronics has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical to strengthen the semiconductor materials supply chain for its upcoming fabrication facility at Dholera in Gujarat. The agreement represents another important step in building the supporting industrial ecosystem required for India’s first commercial 300 mm semiconductor fabrication plant.

Announced on 18 September 2026 during SEMICON India 2026, the collaboration covers the supply of high-quality semiconductor materials to Tata Electronics and explores the possibility of manufacturing specialised high-purity chemicals and semiconductor materials within India.

The partnership is particularly significant because semiconductor fabrication depends not only on sophisticated manufacturing equipment but also on a continuous supply of ultra-pure chemicals and specialised materials. Localising even part of this supply chain could reduce dependence on imports while improving the resilience of India’s emerging semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.

High-Purity Materials for the Dholera Fab

Under the agreement, Sumitomo Chemical will explore the supply of a range of specialised materials required for semiconductor wafer fabrication.

These include photoresists, functional chemicals and high-purity process chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, ammonia water and sulphuric acid. Such chemicals are used throughout semiconductor manufacturing for cleaning, surface preparation, lithography and other critical wafer-processing stages.

The purity requirements for semiconductor manufacturing are considerably more demanding than those in conventional chemical industries. Even extremely small quantities of contaminants can interfere with microscopic circuits formed on a wafer, resulting in defects and reducing manufacturing yields.

Ensuring a consistent supply of semiconductor-grade chemicals is therefore as important to a functioning fabrication plant as securing lithography machines, deposition equipment or etching systems.

Local Manufacturing in India Under Consideration

An important element of the Tata Electronics–Sumitomo Chemical agreement is the possibility of manufacturing semiconductor materials within India rather than relying entirely on imported supplies.

Tata Electronics will support Sumitomo Chemical in evaluating opportunities to manufacture high-purity chemicals and semiconductor materials domestically. The companies will explore how Sumitomo’s materials expertise can be integrated with the growing semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem being developed around Dholera.

If the localisation effort advances to commercial production, India could begin developing domestic capabilities in categories of semiconductor chemicals that have traditionally been sourced from established manufacturing centres in East Asia, Europe and the United States.

Local production could also shorten supply chains and reduce the logistical risks associated with transporting specialised chemicals over long distances.

Dholera at the Centre of Tata’s Semiconductor Strategy

Tata Electronics is developing a major semiconductor fabrication facility at Dholera in Gujarat with an investment of approximately ₹91,000 crore.

The project is intended to become India’s first commercial semiconductor fab capable of producing chips on 300 mm wafers. Tata Electronics is developing the facility with technology support from Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.

The manufacturing platform is expected to support process technologies ranging from approximately 28 nanometres to 110 nanometres, addressing applications across automotive electronics, power management, consumer electronics, telecommunications and other industrial sectors.

Unlike leading-edge processors produced using the smallest semiconductor nodes, many of the chips used in automobiles, industrial equipment, communications infrastructure and power electronics continue to be manufactured on mature process technologies.

The Dholera fab is therefore positioned to address a large and strategically important segment of global semiconductor demand.

Sumitomo Chemical Brings Established Materials Expertise

Sumitomo Chemical is one of Japan’s major chemical manufacturers and has developed extensive capabilities in specialised materials used by the semiconductor industry.

Its semiconductor portfolio includes photoresists, functional chemicals and ultra-high-purity process chemicals used during multiple stages of wafer fabrication.

Manufacturing these materials requires strict contamination control, specialised production equipment and sophisticated quality-assurance systems because semiconductor manufacturers demand extremely consistent chemical characteristics across large production volumes.

Sumitomo Chemical’s involvement therefore gives Tata Electronics access to an established global supplier with experience meeting the stringent requirements of semiconductor fabrication plants.

Japan Becomes an Important Partner in India’s Semiconductor Expansion

The agreement also highlights the growing role of Japanese companies in India’s semiconductor ambitions.

Japan possesses deep industrial capability across semiconductor materials, precision manufacturing equipment, specialty chemicals, silicon wafers and advanced production technologies. Many of these capabilities complement India’s effort to establish its own semiconductor manufacturing base.

India and Japan have increasingly sought to connect their respective strengths through investment, technology cooperation and supply-chain partnerships.

For India, Japanese participation provides access to experienced suppliers and manufacturing expertise. For Japanese companies, India’s expanding semiconductor industry represents an opportunity to participate in the creation of an entirely new large-scale manufacturing ecosystem.

Tata Builds a Wider Materials Ecosystem Around Dholera

The Sumitomo Chemical agreement forms part of a broader effort by Tata Electronics to establish the materials, logistics and industrial infrastructure required to operate the Dholera fabrication plant.

Tata Electronics has also entered into partnerships with Japan’s Sojitz Corporation and NRS Corporation to develop a supply, storage and logistics network for critical semiconductor materials required by the Dholera facility.

These companies bring expertise in chemical distribution, specialised logistics and the safe handling of materials used by semiconductor manufacturers.

Such infrastructure is particularly important because many fab chemicals require carefully controlled storage, transport and handling conditions. Some materials can also be hazardous, requiring specialised facilities and rigorous safety systems.

Developing this infrastructure close to the fabrication plant can reduce transport time while improving reliability and inventory management.

Operational Infrastructure Also Being Developed

Tata Electronics is simultaneously working with specialised engineering companies to prepare the Dholera facility for operations.

The company has entered into cooperation with Malaysia-based Kelington Group, which has experience building high-purity gas and chemical delivery systems for semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

Semiconductor fabs require extensive networks capable of delivering highly controlled gases, chemicals, vacuum systems and ultra-pure water directly to production equipment.

These supporting systems are rarely visible from outside a fabrication plant, but they are essential to maintaining stable production.

The growing network of partnerships around Dholera therefore indicates that Tata Electronics is moving beyond construction of the fabrication plant itself and is increasingly focused on creating the industrial infrastructure needed for sustained wafer production.

Semiconductor Materials Are a Strategic Capability

Global semiconductor shortages in recent years demonstrated that chip supply chains depend on far more than fabrication capacity.

The production of a semiconductor requires specialised equipment, silicon wafers, photoresists, specialty gases, high-purity chemicals, deposition materials, packaging substrates and numerous other inputs sourced from companies located across multiple countries.

Disruption in any one of these categories can affect production.

Developing domestic capability in semiconductor materials therefore represents an important element of supply-chain resilience.

India does not need to manufacture every material domestically, but establishing local capability in strategically important areas could reduce exposure to international logistics disruptions while creating opportunities for Indian chemical and materials companies to enter the semiconductor supply chain.

Potential Benefits Beyond the Tata Fab

A domestic semiconductor-materials industry would not necessarily remain limited to supplying Tata Electronics.

India is developing several semiconductor fabrication, packaging and assembly projects under the India Semiconductor Mission. As these facilities enter operation, demand for semiconductor-grade chemicals, gases, substrates and other specialised materials is expected to rise considerably.

A supplier establishing production capacity near Dholera could therefore eventually serve multiple customers within India.

This could help create economies of scale and encourage further investment from international semiconductor-material companies.

Over time, India could develop specialised industrial clusters supporting wafer fabrication, advanced packaging and electronics manufacturing in the same way that semiconductor manufacturing centres in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the United States have developed dense supplier networks around major fabrication facilities.

Building a More Complete Semiconductor Value Chain

India’s semiconductor strategy has gradually expanded beyond attracting individual fabrication plants.

The broader objective now includes chip design, semiconductor equipment, materials, advanced packaging, testing, workforce development and research.

The Tata Electronics–Sumitomo Chemical agreement fits directly into this wider approach because it addresses one of the upstream layers of semiconductor manufacturing that India has historically depended heavily on imports to supply.

If the proposed localisation progresses into commercial manufacturing, India could gain domestic capability in specialised chemicals that are essential to wafer fabrication.

For Tata Electronics, the partnership would strengthen the supply chain supporting its Dholera fab. For the wider semiconductor ecosystem, it represents another step towards establishing a more complete manufacturing value chain within India.

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References

1. Tata Electronics — Tata Electronics and Sumitomo Chemical Sign MoU for High-Quality Semiconductor Materials, 18 September 2026
   https://www.tataelectronics.com/w/tata-electronics-and-sumitomo-chemical-sign-mou-for-high-quality-semiconductor-materials
2. Tata Electronics — Tata Electronics, Sojitz Corporation and NRS Corporation Announce Partnership to Develop Semiconductor Materials Supply Chain for Dholera Fab, 18 September 2026
   https://www.tataelectronics.com/w/tata-electronics-sojitz-corporation-and-nrs-corporation-announce-partnership-to-develop-semiconductor-materials-supply-chain-for-dholera-fab
3. Tata Electronics — Tata Electronics and Kelington Collaborate to Accelerate Operational Readiness of Dholera Fab, 18 September 2026
   https://www.tataelectronics.com/w/tata-electronics-and-kelington-collaborate-to-accelerate-operational-readiness-of-dholera-fab
4. Tata Electronics — Semiconductor Manufacturing and Dholera Fab
   https://www.tataelectronics.com/

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