AMSTERDAM, May 23 (Reuters) - European tech giant ASML

and the Eindhoven University of Technology said on

Thursday they have agreed to spend a combined 180 million euros

($195 million) on semiconductor research over the coming decade.

ASML, the largest supplier of equipment used in computer

chip manufacturing, has been struggling with where and how it

will expand operations, and with questions over whether the

workforce and other infrastructure in the Netherlands' Eindhoven

region will be enough to meet its growth plans.

"The collaboration will increase the availability of PhDs,

which our industry has a strong need for, and will provide

scientific insights that are relevant to the chip industry and

society," ASML CFO Roger Dassen said in a statement announcing

the deal.

"With this agreement we are investing in science in the

Netherlands and in training experts."

The university said it expects to spend 100 million euros to

build and run a advanced cleanroom facility where it will

conduct semiconductor related research into fields including

plasma physics, mechatronics, optics and AI. ASML is investing

80 million euros.

University President Robert-Jan Smits said the partnership

was the largest ever for the university, and would help cement

Eindhoven's importance as a "semicon hotspot."

The Dutch government in March said it would spend $2.7

billion on what it dubbed "Project Beethoven" to improve roads,

housing and the electric grid around Eindhoven to ensure that

ASML did not follow through on a threat to move significant

operations abroad.

In April, ASML signed a letter of intent with the city of

Eindhoven for an expansion in an undeveloped area near the

city's airport large enough to house 20,000 additional

employees.

At the end of 2023 ASML, based in the Eindhoven suburb of

Veldhoven, had 42,000 globally, with 23,000 of them in the

Netherlands.

The company has a long-range forecast of 44-60 billion euros

in annual sales by 2030, roughly doubling from 26.7 billion

euros in 2023.

($1 = 0.9241 euros)