Zeiss Adds 25,000 Square Meters at a Plant That Caps ASML's EUV Output

Zeiss Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology confirmed in July that its Oberkochen (Germany) expansion adds around 25,000 square meters of production and production-related space. Employees moved into the project’s new office building at the site that month. ASML’s 2025 annual report says its lithography-system output is limited by the capacity of the German optics maker.

Zeiss’s July Handover

The move came roughly four years after Zeiss broke ground in May 2022. Further buildings will be handed over and put into operation in stages, the company said. Frank Rohmund, president and chief executive of Zeiss SMT, described the work as part of a wider capacity program in Germany and other markets.

“With the site expansion in Oberkochen and at our international locations, we are investing proactively in the future of the semiconductor industry,” Rohmund said in the company statement.

ASML’s annual report says that if Zeiss ended the supply relationship or could no longer produce optics, ASML “would effectively cease to be able to conduct our business.”

The added production space will support work on unusually large components and the equipment needed to manufacture them. Tom’s Hardware, citing Zeiss, reported that High-NA projection optics contain more than 40,000 parts and weigh about 12 tons. The associated illumination system adds 25,000 parts and another 6 tons. Individual mirrors weigh several hundred kilograms and can spend months in machining. Zeiss uses a purpose-built vacuum chamber measuring five by 10 meters to verify the optics, according to the same account.

Zeiss has disclosed no optical-column output figure for the expanded site. Its statement also provides no capital cost or added headcount, leaving the additional scanner capacity unspecified.

Note 26’s €4.41 Billion Purchase Line

Note 26 of ASML’s annual report describes the commercial relationship in direct terms. “Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH is our single supplier, and we are their single customer, of optical columns for lithography systems,” the filing states. Those columns can be produced only with manufacturing and testing facilities in Oberkochen and Wetzlar, according to the document.

ASML calls the alliance “two companies, one business.” Its purchases from Zeiss SMT Holding and its subsidiaries rose from €3.33 billion in 2023 to €3.95 billion in 2024. The total reached €4.41 billion in 2025.

The risk section says ASML’s system production is limited by Zeiss’s output of lenses, mirrors, illuminators, collectors and other optical components. The annual report says ASML could be unable to fulfill orders if Zeiss became unable to maintain and increase production levels over a prolonged period.

ASML’s 24.9% Zeiss Stake

ASML has held a 24.9% interest in Carl Zeiss SMT Holding since June 29, 2017. The chip-equipment maker classifies the partnership as a variable interest entity, with potential future operating losses that the annual report says “cannot be quantified.” ASML received a €320.5 million dividend from the stake in 2025, compared with €225.4 million the previous year.

The financial relationship extends to factory funding. Loans receivable from Zeiss rose from €1.44 billion at the end of 2024 to €1.91 billion a year later. Advance payments moved in the other direction, falling from €1.42 billion to €1.19 billion.

A May 2025 restatement of the companies’ framework agreement made qualifying capital-expenditure loans interest-free, with repayment expected over seven or 15 years. Quarterly repayments vary with Zeiss SMT’s revenue inside an agreed corridor and begin after a three-year grace period. Carl Zeiss AG provides a parental guarantee, the filing states.

Christophe Fouquet’s 2027 EUV Plan

ASML sold 86 new lithography systems in the second quarter of 2026, up from 67 in the first quarter, according to its July 15 results release. The company reported €9.3 billion in quarterly sales and raised its full-year sales outlook to between €43 billion and €45 billion.

Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet said ASML plans to add 30% to its 2026 Low-NA EUV capacity of around 65 systems for 2027. The company is investigating another 30% increase for 2028. Its statement does not assign a portion of either increase to the new Oberkochen space.

ASML has scheduled its next Capital Markets Day for June 10, 2027, when Fouquet said the company will update its longer-term market and technology plans.

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Marcus Schuler

San Francisco

Editor-in-Chief and founder of Implicator.ai. Former ARD correspondent and senior broadcast journalist with 10+ years covering tech. Writes daily briefings on policy and market developments. Based in San Francisco. E-mail: editor@implicator.ai