TSMC will open a second semiconductor fab in Kumamoto, Japan, bringing its total investment in the country to over $20 billion, with support from the Japanese government.

The newly announced plant is expected to be in operation by the end of 2027. TSMC is already constructing a $7 billion chip fab in Kumamoto, which is set to open later this month.

Construction of this second fab is due to begin before the end of 2024 and is expected to have a total production capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers per month for use with automotive, industrial, consumer, and HPC-related applications.

The Taiwanese chip manufacturers will hold an 86.5 percent stake in the new venture, with the remaining investment coming from Sony, Denso, and Toyota. In a statement, TSMC also said the site would create “more than 3,400 high-tech professional jobs.”

In addition to its Japanese factories, TSMC is also building new fabrication plants in Germany and the US state of Arizona. In Dresden, Germany, TSMC has committed to invest €3.5 billion ($3.8bn) in building its first factory in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Arizona site has been plagued by problems, and in January 2024 the company pushed the operational date of the second, more advanced, fab back to 2027. The previous month, TSMC’s chairman, Mark Liu, announced he would be retiring from the company in 2024, having worked at the company for 30 years.

He is expected to be replaced by the company’s current CEO and vice chairman C.C. Wei.