TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will award a NT$285 million (US$9.27 million) subsidy to Dutch semiconductor machinery maker ASML Holding NV for its 2-nanometer plans, reports said Thursday (June 1).

As the project is the first of its kind in the world, it will help upgrade Taiwan’s supply chains, the MOEA said. The subsidy will account for 30% of the NT$950 million price tag for the unit to be based at a new factory in Linkou, New Taipei City, per CNA.

The project will be centered on research into the development of the equipment necessary to make highly sophisticated semiconductors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will reportedly start volume production of 2nm chips in 2025.

During negotiations for the subsidy, ASML reportedly agreed to add six Taiwanese suppliers, and to raise its spending in Taiwan to NT$7.2 billion per year, MOEA officials said. The ministry added that one of the main reasons for the Dutch company to choose Taiwan was the presence of both suppliers and clients for the machinery it produced.

ASML already employs 4,500 people at five plants across Taiwan, with its first office in the country dating back to 2003. The company is a world leader in the production of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment used to make semiconductors.