Producer
Hemlock Semiconductor
US polysilicon producer; majority owned by Dow Inc. (42.5%), with Shin-Etsu Chemical (28.75%) and DuPont Toray Specialty Materials (28.75%). Produces ~19,000 MT/yr of semiconductor-grade and solar-grade polysilicon at Hemlock, MI. Was the world's largest polysilicon producer before Chinese capacity surge (2008–2014). Hemlock's US production represents ~1% of global supply but is strategically important as non-China sourcing for US solar manufacturers subject to UFLPA compliance requirements.
3
Inputs supplied
2
Goods downstream
3
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
3 inputs Hemlock Semiconductor supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Hemlock Semiconductor makes, pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
3 facilities
Hemlock Semiconductor -- Hemlock, Michigan (EG Polysilicon) →
USHemlock, Saginaw County, Michigan, USA · chemical_plant
Primary US electronic-grade polysilicon facility; ~25-28% of global EG polysilicon supply. JV between DowSilicones (Dow Chemical), Shin-Etsu Chemical (Japan), and Mitsubishi Materials (Japan). Founded 1961. Hemlock MI is named for the township, not the plant -- the plant gave the city its modern prominence. Largest US domestic chip-grade polysilicon producer. Critical for US semiconductor supply chain security.
Hemlock Semiconductor Polysilicon Plant →
USHemlock, Michigan · manufacturing
US polysilicon production at ~19,000 MT/yr capacity. Produces both semiconductor-grade (9N+) and solar-grade polysilicon using Siemens CVD process. One of the few non-Chinese solar polysilicon facilities with scale. Previously exported heavily to China; Chinese antidumping duties in 2014 effectively blocked those exports and caused years of underutilization. Now repositioning as US-domestic supply for IRA-compliant solar manufacturing.
Hemlock Semiconductor — Clarksburg, Michigan Production Facility →
USMichigan · processing
Primary polysilicon production facility for Hemlock Semiconductor Group (HSG) in Clarksburg, Michigan. JV between Dow Chemical (now DowDuPont/Dow Inc.) and Shin-Etsu Chemical (Japan). Produces both solar-grade and semiconductor-grade polysilicon. In 2024, Hemlock ranked 14th globally in polysilicon production — a severe decline from its former position as one of the world's largest producers before China's state-subsidized expansion. Hemlock received US Department of Energy loan guarantees and is positioned as a key domestic polysilicon source to serve US solar manufacturing under Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) domestic content requirements.
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Semiconductor-Grade Polysilicon
50%Solar-Grade Polysilicon
50%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2024
Hemlock Semiconductor -- the primary US domestic source of electronic-grade polysilicon for semiconductor wafers -- is a joint venture between Dow Chemical (US), Shin-Etsu Chemical (Japan), and Mitsubishi Materials (Japan). The company ensuring US semiconductor supply chain independence is majority-controlled by two Japanese companies. When Congress passed the CHIPS Act to onshore US semiconductor manufacturing, its primary domestic chip-grade silicon input was (and remains) partially owned by the Japanese firms whose downstream chip factories (TSMC Arizona, Samsung Austin) the CHIPS Act is designed to encourage.
Hemlock Semiconductor ↗Origin2023
Hemlock Semiconductor was founded in 1961 in Hemlock, Michigan as a joint venture between Dow Corning Corporation (itself a Dow Chemical + Corning Glass JV) and Shin-Etsu Chemical to supply hyperpure polysilicon for the nascent US semiconductor industry. The early semiconductor manufacturers of Silicon Valley needed domestic US polysilicon supply to avoid dependence on European or Japanese sources for the foundational material of all silicon chips. Hemlock expanded through the 1970s-2000s to become the world's largest polysilicon producer, with ~19,000 MT/yr capacity. When Chinese polysilicon producers scaled up aggressively 2008-2014 with government-subsidized electricity and capital, prices fell 90% and Hemlock faced severe margin compression. Hemlock closed one of its two plants and reduced production. Today it remains the largest US-based polysilicon producer, but at ~1% of global supply -- a dramatic comedown from its once-dominant position, representing the hollowing out of US semiconductor materials manufacturing by Chinese industrial policy.
Hemlock Semiconductor Operations LLC ↗