Taiwan’s National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu said Taiwan hopes for cooperation between Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC and Czechia and such cooperation could transform the country into one of Europe’s important semiconductor clusters over the next three to five years, according to a report in the Taipei Times.

Wu said as TSMC builds an advanced wafer fab in Dresden, Germany, it needs a comprehensive supply chain in Europe. Sound infrastructure, such as stable power and water supplies, and a large pool of excellent engineers, were necessary requirements for Taiwanese companies when considering overseas investments, he said.

He added that Taiwan and Czechia will work closely to make sure these conditions are met. Taiwanese investors will also take into account the investment incentives the Czech government is likely to offer them.

On August 20, TSMC broke ground on a 12-inch wafer fab in Dresden through a joint venture called European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (ESMC), which includes Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG and NXP Semiconductors N.V.

Total investment in the lab is estimated to exceed 10 billion euros (USD 11.1 billion), with TSMC taking a 70% stake and each of its three partners taking 10%. The EU Commission approved 5 billion euros in subsidies for the project under the EU Chips Act.