Posted on 03/11/2022 2:37:17 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ukraine's two leading suppliers of neon, which produce about half the world's supply of the key ingredient for making chips, have halted their operations as Moscow has sharpened its attack on the country, threatening to raise prices and aggravate the semiconductor shortage.
Some 45% to 54% of the world's semiconductor-grade neon, critical for the lasers used to make chips, comes from two Ukrainian companies, Ingas and Cryoin, according to Reuters calculations based on figures from the companies and market research firm Techcet. Global neon consumption for chip production reached about 540 metric tons last year, Techcet estimates.
Both firms have shuttered their operations, according to company representatives contacted by Reuters, as Russian troops have escalated their attacks on cities throughout Ukraine, killing civilians and destroying key infrastructure.
The stoppage casts a cloud over the worldwide output of chips, already in short supply after the coronavirus pandemic drove up demand for cellphones, laptops and later cars, forcing some firms to scale back production.
While estimates vary widely about the amount of neon stocks chipmakers keep on hand, production could take a hit if the conflict drags on, according to Angelo Zino, an analyst at CFRA.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
This, among many other reasons, is why Russia screwing around in Ukraine is not good for us or the Western World.
Others are wheat, oil, gas, pipelines, and strategic location.
This is silly.
Neon is produced by cryogenic fractional distillation of air. The air in Russia contains the same percentage of Neon as does the air in the United States, or anywhere else.
Neon is not a product of the Ukraine as a commodity they only have. It is obtained from the air as a trace noble gas. Apparently they have much production facilities for this. We can do the same. I do not know how long it would take to do this. It is simply a hyper cold distillation process.
Hmmmm, I’ve got a small bottle of neon. Maybe I should start taking bids when things get really tight.
While it would be possible for any other nation to produce it, it will take a while to redevelop industrial apparatus to do it. Ukraine had made it available in such quantity and at such a low price for the past two decades that all the companies in the US that used to make the gear have either discontinued it long ago or the companies themselves are gone as there was simply no market in the US to sell to.
Winner in our economy will be those that own the junkyard.
Can’t watch your broken dreams in and out of the beams of the neon moon.
What? Now we’re gonna have a Doritos shortage?!?
At first, I read ‘doctor’ shortage and I cheered. Then I reread ‘Doritos’ so the cheering was short-lived.
Read later.
Then there is still 50% that is NOT in harm’s way!
Ukraine supplies 90% of the semiconductor-grade neon used in the USA.
Well, that IS the question. Even the Chinese apparently don't make much. Russia and Ukraine make the lion's share.
See my above post.
Moreover, 90% of all neon production is in Russia and Ukraine.
Hattip to mad_as_he$$ for the link
You can recover Neon (and other gases) from the air anywhere on earth - in theory.
In practice it seems to happen where it can be done cheapest. It's plausible that Ukraine and Russia are at the top of the list due to lower regs, lower taxes and access to cheap electricity.
Close access to industries that use some of the air factions doesn’t hurt either.
As far as I can tell, the Neon is used to make the He-Ne lasers used in fabrication?
Perhaps some of FR’s fab-experts can chip in on this (excuse the pun) and sketch out Neon’s uses for us.
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