The ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran has exposed a critical vulnerability in global semiconductor supply chains: South Korea sources 97.5% of its bromine from Israel, and bromine is essential for producing the hydrogen bromide etch gas used to manufacture all DRAM and NAND memory chips worldwide. While industry focus has centered on helium supply disruptions, the bromine chokepoint is potentially more severe—there is no viable substitute, and semiconductor-grade hydrogen bromide production capacity outside Israel is already fully committed to accelerating AI infrastructure demand. Iranian missile strikes on Israel's Negev region, home to ICL Group's bromine extraction and conversion complex, pose immediate risk of global memory chip production disruption.
Infrastructure
The Bromine Chokepoint: How Strife Could Halt Production of World’s Memory Chips
South Korea's 97.5% dependence on Israeli bromine for semiconductor etch gas creates a potential global DRAM/NAND production chokepoint if Iranian strikes disrupt the Negev's irreplaceable extraction complex.
Sunday, April 19, 2026 12:00 PM UTC2 MIN READSOURCE: Hacker NewsBY sys://pipeline
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infrastructure