[News] LG Reportedly Delays Glass Substrate Commercialization to 2030 on Demand Uncertainty

Multiple industry players have been working to advance glass substrates, with LG among them, though the Korean company is reportedly recalibrating its timeline. According to ZDNet, LG had previously anticipated large-scale commercialization around 2028 but has since pushed its outlook to 2030, citing insufficient demand to justify the required level of investment.

Speaking at CES, CEO Moon Hyuk-soo said that while product development for glass substrates has been completed, significant hurdles remain in achieving mass production, which would also require substantial capital expenditure. As the report indicates, he added that current demand is still insufficient to absorb the full production capacity such an investment would create.

Glass Substrates: Caution on Demand, Progress on Development

Citing Moon, the report adds that alternative technologies are still being explored, leading to a broader industry view that sufficient demand is unlikely to emerge before around 2030. Meanwhile, as the report notes, some critics argue that glass substrates may be adopted only in a narrow range of ultra–high-performance AI chips, suggesting that the overall market could be smaller than initially anticipated.

That said, the report notes that LG Innotek plans to continue its core technology development and intends to proceed with mass-production investments when conditions are appropriate. It also highlights that LG Innotek has recently entered into a research and development partnership with UTI, a precision glass processing specialist, to strengthen its glass substrate capabilities.

LG Innotek has been developing glass substrate technologies and conducting pilot-scale production since last year, including the establishment of a pilot production line at a domestic facility, the report adds.

LG Innotek Sees Sustained Growth in Package Substrates

At CES, LG CEO Moon Hyuk-soo said LG Innotek views its package solutions business as one of its core high–value-added segments. As noted by ZDNet, the company offers a broad portfolio of advanced semiconductor package solutions, including RF-SiP, FC-CSP, and FC-BGA. As the memory market enters an upcycle, applications for mobile substrates such as FC-CSP are also expanding into memory-related uses.

As cited by the report, Moon noted that demand for semiconductor package substrates is expected to continue rising for the foreseeable future, with LG Innotek’s substrate operations projected to enter a full-utilization phase. He added that the company is reviewing multiple options to expand production capacity for its package solutions business.

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(Photo credit: LG Innotek)