News Release

JX Advanced Metals Corporation (President: Hayashi Yoichi, hereinafter "JX Advanced Metals" or the "Company") has decided to further expand the production capacity of magnetic sputtering targets used in hard disk media (HD media) for hard disk drives (HDD). This follows the investment announced on June 11 of this year. Through continuous capacity expansion over the next three years, the Company will increase production capacity by 1.5 times compared with 2025 levels by mid-2029, including the capacity increase previously announced.

　

Driven by the rapid proliferation of generative AI and cloud services, the volume of data handled by data centers is growing at an accelerating pace. HDD play an essential role as storage devices for efficiently storing massive amounts of data, and demand for HDD is expected to continue growing over the medium to long term.

　

HDD store data in a recording layer by utilizing magnetic properties. JX Advanced Metals has supplied magnetic sputtering targets, which are indispensable for forming this recording layer, for many years. In June of this year, the Company announced its plan to gradually expand production capacity for these products beginning in the second half of fiscal 2026 in order to reliably meet future demand growth^*1 .

　

In recent years, HDD recording technology has been shifting from the conventional PMR method ^*2 to HAMR^*3, a next-generation recording technology that enables significantly higher storage capacities. Along with this transition, new materials are increasingly being adopted in HD media. As these market changes continue to progress, we believe it is more important than ever to continuously strengthen our ability to stably supply innovative products that respond quickly to customer needs and contribute to enhancing the performance of customers' products.

　

Under these circumstances, JX Advanced Metals has decided to implement ongoing capacity expansions for magnetic sputtering targets. Including the expansion announced in June this year, the Company will increase production capacity to 1.5 times the 2025 level by mid-2029. Through these efforts, we will reliably meet future demand growth while further strengthening our ability to rapidly provide products that align with customer requirements.

　

Going forward, under the JX Advanced Metals Group Long-Term Vision 2040, the JX Advanced Metals Group will continue contributing to social development and innovation through the stable supply of advanced materials that support technological progress.

　

　

Magnetic sputtering target

　

　

*1 For details, please refer to the June 11, 2026 news release, "Expansion of Production Capacity for Magnetic Sputtering Targets Used in Hard Disk Media".
*2 PMR (Perpendicular Magnetic Recording): A magnetic recording technology widely used in current HDD that achieves high recording density by aligning the magnetization direction perpendicular to the disk surface.
*3 HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording): A next-generation magnetic recording technology that uses laser light to locally heat the recording layer of HD media, enabling higher recording densities than conventional methods.