The Bromine Chokepoint: How Strife in the Middle East Could Halt Production of the World’s Memory Chips

The global supply of memory chips, essential for everything from phones to AI, is dangerously dependent on a single chemical: bromine. South Korea, which dominates memory chip production, sources nearly all of its bromine from Israeli facilities that are now within missile range of Iran. This critical element has no viable substitute in the manufacturing process, and the specialized infrastructure needed to purify it for semiconductor use cannot be quickly built elsewhere. Any disruption to this supply, whether from a direct attack or rising conflict-related costs, could halt the world's DRAM and NAND flash chip output within weeks.