By Tobias Fritsche | Product Application Manager Temperature Control Equipment, SMC Germany
DECEMBER 2024
Some customers ask me why a company with its foundations in pneumatic equipment also offers thermo-chillers? The answer to that question simply derives from an ethos that remains the basis for much of our success today: the desire and determination to help customers overcome their problems.
To provide a short retrospective of thermo-chiller evolution at SMC, our story with this innovative technology dates back over 40 years. In the 1980s, SMC was building strong relationships with semiconductor OEMs in Japan, helping meet their general requirements for pneumatic components. The mainstream semiconductor manufacturing process was at that time based on wet etching, but growing industry demand for miniaturisation saw a shift to dry etching. This proved to be the prompt for a brand-new SMC technology.
To help ensure success, dry etching benefits from a constant process temperature, prompting our decision to enter the OEM chiller market. We created our first chiller solution by evolving the technology of an existing product, a refrigerated air dryer.
This resolve and dedication to overcome a customer challenge soon led to the development of a thermo-chiller portfolio. It’s a scenario we’ve seen repeat itself several times over the years. We design, develop and manufacture a new product to satisfy the needs of specific customer, and it subsequently becomes a solution that benefits wider industry.
The theory of evolution
Like all products that enjoy enduring appeal, evolution and continuous improvement are essential. With global demand for semiconductors soaring in the 1980s and 1990s, production volumes increased exponentially, leading to demand for ultra-reliable chillers offering very precise control. At SMC, we set about devising proprietary in-house inspection methods for our thermo-chiller production, setting the benchmark for product quality and reliability. We also developed thermo-chiller solutions capable of delivering ±0.1°C precision, which over subsequent years became the industry standard.
Market evolution saw developments in cooling capacity and output. These metrics would normally lead to larger thermo-chillers that consume more electricity, but we had ideas to save energy.
We applied our expertise and know-how in the manufacture of pneumatic equipment to achieve space savings compared with other thermo-chiller solutions available on the market. We also focused on helping our semiconductor customers combat rising energy costs by developing solutions that keep electricity consumption low. Innovations in this area over the years have included a special inverter pump, direct heat-exchange technology and, most recently, a triple inverter (motor drive) that individually controls the compressor motor, fan and pump.
No time like the present
Today, we have a highly energy-efficient chiller portfolio that also meets demand for sustainability. Driven by the EU’s F-gas Regulation, we now have solutions available that use R454C refrigerant. R454C has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) of 146. The date of enforcement for the F-gas regulation is 1 January 2027, when chillers with a capacity of 12 kW or less can only use refrigerants with a GWP of less than 150. From 2032, chillers with a capacity of 12 kW or less cannot use any F-gases whatsoever.
With this thought in mind, alongside the (low) flammability category of R454C, we set about engineering a non-flammable refrigerant solution that carries an ultra-low GWP. The result? Thermo-chillers with the capability of using CO2 as the refrigerant. CO2 not only has a GWP of 1, it is also non-flammable and non-toxic.
SMC´s Non F-Gas (CO2 Refrigerant) Refrigerated Thermo-chiller – HRZC Series
The future is bright
Today, we are investing around €140.4 million in our semiconductor business across the Far East and Europe, most of which involves thermo-chillers. To provide a breakdown of this total, €38.2 million is for local production and the expansion of service centres in Europe; €44.6 million is for the relocation of our sales company headquarters and the establishment of a service centre in Taiwan; and €57.4 million is for the construction of a second plant in South Korea to handle production and after-sales service.
SMC´s main production centre in Europe, Czech Republic. Now inaugurated a third hall of 12,000 square metres basically dedicated to Thermo-chillers production for the European market.
SMC currently holds one of the world’s largest shares of the chiller market for semiconductor manufacturing, a position of strength that this investment will help protect and improve.
Aside from the semiconductor segment, we also see extensive sales of thermo-chillers to sectors such as medical, life science, food, laser and general manufacturing. In total, we currently generate annual chiller sales across all markets of €319 million. This amount represents approximately 6% of total SMC group sales.
While 6% may seem relatively modest, we recognise the significance and potential growth of the thermo-chiller market, driven by growing customer demand for more energy-efficient and sustainable solutions. SMC is therefore spending 20% of its entire capital investment budget for the current financial year on the development of chillers and related technologies.
The evolution of our thermo-chiller technology over the past decades is a prime example of how close customer liaison brings about results that demonstrate tangible benefits. SMC develops solutions that positively impact your bottom line and contribute to a more sustainable and responsible industrial landscape. Based on this ethos, chillers are rapidly becoming a new pillar of our ever-expanding business.
