Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s vision to reinvent the company grew a little grander this week after the chipmaker announced a sweeping European expansion that includes an $18.6 billion mega site in Germany and a $13.2 billion foundry expansion in Ireland.

All told, Intel plans to invest roughly $36.1 billion in Europe over the next few years.

“As the world becomes more digital, chips are more critical than ever,” he said during a press conference this week. “At the same time the demand for semiconductors has grown, the supply has diminished due to a disruption in our global supply chain.”

The plans mark Gelsinger’s latest move to capitalize on these challenges and establish Intel as a leading foundry operator. And much like the chipmaker’s Ohio mega fab announced earlier this year, the multi-billion dollar plan could quickly balloon, pending economic and regulatory support from European Union nations.

“Overall we envision investing up to [$87.6 billion] in the EU over the next decade along the entire semiconductor value chain, from research and development to design, advanced chip packaging to manufacturing and foundry services,” he said.

That investment will, however, depend heavily on government subsidies, Gelsinger made clear during this week’s press conference.

Unlike Intel’s Ohio mega site, which will see the chipmaker front $20 billion to construct a pair of leading-edge fabs outside Columbus, the chipmaker’s European foundry expansion aren’t set in stone. Intel has yet to secure the necessary permits and financial support to “make the project competitive,” Gelsinger admitted.

Bloomberg reports the German government has committed approximately $5.5 billion in subsidies — roughly 30% of the foundry project's estimated $18.6 billion cost — however the funding is subject to European Commission approval before work can begin.

“Our hope is to break ground in the first half of 2023 and produce leadership products in 2027,” Gelsinger said.

Luckily for Gelsinger, Intel may not have to wait long for government subsides to arrive. The EU in February unveiled its own version of the U.S. Chips Act, which would allocate roughly $47.2 billion in funding to accelerate semiconductor manufacturing and packaging projects in the region.

“Our goal is to have 20% of the world’s microchip production in Europe by 2030. That’s twice as much as today in a market that is set to double in the next decade,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during the Intel press conference.

Her goal isn’t just to attract semiconductor manufacturing capacity. Instead, she sees the funding as an opportunity to rise to the occasion and establish Europe as a magnet for high-tech innovation.

“This is a challenge and to take it up is not just a question of building a few big fabs in some EU countries,” Von der Leyen said. “We have to mobilize the best that Europe has from fundamental research all the way to market applications. We need a network of research institutes prototyping, testing, and advancing production and packaging facilities everywhere on the continent.”

The funding also presents an opportunity to rebalance the distribution of semiconductor manufacturing, according to Gelsinger.

“Today, 80% of chips are produced in Asia,“ he said in reference to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics. “Our landmark pan-European investment addresses the global need for a more balanced and resilient supply chain.”

Intel is kicking off its European expansion with a pair of leading-edge fabs in Magdeburg, Germany, at an estimated cost of $18.6 billion.

“This country has a proud tradition as a manufacturing innovator. It is an ideal place to establish a new hub for advanced chipmaking,” Gelsinger said. “We plan to have the fabs deliver chips using Intel’s most advanced transistor technology and strengthen Germany’s leadership in research in high tech.”

The project is expected to generate 7,000 construction jobs over the course of the build and 3,000 permanent high-tech jobs at Intel when the fabs come online in 2027.

Both fabs will serve Intel’s internal product stack as well as the company’s fledgling Intel Foundry Services (IFS) business unit with Intel’s “angstrom-era” process technologies.

Alongside the new fabs, Intel announced a $13.2 billion retrofit of its existing fab in Kildare, Ireland, to produce chips using the chipmaker’s long-delayed 7-nanomteer — Intel 4 — manufacturing process.

Intel previously dedicated foundry capacity to support European automakers impacted by the ongoing semiconductor shortage.

The chipmaker also plans to expand its presence in Italy, France, and Poland. The company is already in negotiations to construct a back-end manufacturing facility in Italy at a cost of roughly $5 billion. It claims the facility would create approximately 1,500 high-tech jobs in the region.

In France, Intel plans to construct its flagship research and development facility near Plateau de Saclay. When the facility comes online in 2024, it will employ roughly 450 people and eventually grow to 1,000 employees.

Intel also plans to establish its primary European foundry design center, which will offer design services and collaterals to European and global industry partners.

Finally in Poland, Intel plans to expand its lab facilities by 50% to support development of deep neural networking, audio, graphics, data center, and cloud computing technologies.