TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tokyo Electron has opened a new research and development center in Kumamoto, Japan, as the country’s semiconductor ecosystem expands around TSMC’s operations, Nikkei Asia reported Thursday.

The four-story, 27,000-square-meter facility will begin operations in the spring near TSMC’s Kumamoto plant, where the world’s largest contract chipmaker is ramping up production alongside partners such as Sony and Denso.

Tokyo Electron Kyushu President Hayashi Shinichi said the center aims to develop equipment with an eye toward 1 nm and beyond, quadrupling the company’s R&D capacity in Kumamoto. Generally, the smaller the process, the more advanced the chip.

In Kumamoto, Tokyo Electron specializes in coater and developer tools used in lithography, a process crucial to chip miniaturization. The company holds a dominant global position in this segment.

With TSMC expected to mass-produce 2 nm chips this year and move toward 1.4 nm by 2028, Tokyo Electron’s new facility is positioned to support the next wave of process innovation. The company is also working with ASML and Imec to extend Moore’s Law and improve environmental efficiency in chip manufacturing.

Tokyo Electron plans to invest more than NT$303.8 billion (US$9.9 billion) in R&D through March 2029, nearly doubling its previous five-year total.