ASML ramps EUV power to 1 kW, aiming to lift chip output 50% by 2030 and ease AI supply

ASML’s announcement marks the first major power increase for its extreme‑ultraviolet (EUV) lithography platform since the technology entered high‑volume manufacturing. The Dutch firm said the new light source will deliver 1 kilowatt of EUV power—roughly double the output of its current generation—allowing fab operators to run more wafers per day without a proportional rise in cycle time. According to Reuters, the upgrade “could yield 50 percent more chips by 2030,” a gain that ASML expects to translate into a measurable easing of the AI‑chip bottleneck that has constrained both consumer‑grade and data‑center processors this year.

The power boost is tied to ASML’s “Enhanced EUV Light Source” project, which the company has been developing alongside its High‑NA (numerical aperture) tool roadmap. Reuters notes that the company has already achieved “first light” on its first High‑NA EUV scanner, a milestone that validates the optical design needed to handle the higher photon flux. Wccftech adds that the new source will require “equipment upgrades” at the fab level, implying that manufacturers will need to retrofit existing tracks or install new exposure tools to fully exploit the extra power. The implication is that the productivity lift will not be automatic; it will depend on capital spending cycles at the world’s leading foundries, which are already navigating a “supercycle” of demand driven by AI workloads, as Wccftech observes.

Industry analysts have long warned that the current EUV capacity ceiling is a structural constraint on AI‑chip supply. The 1 kW source, by raising the photon budget per exposure, can reduce the number of shots needed to pattern a die, thereby cutting cycle time per wafer. If the projected 50 percent output increase materializes, the effect would be comparable to adding a new fab line without the associated real‑estate and utility costs. Reuters points out that the gain “could yield 50 percent more chips by 2030,” a timeframe that aligns with the expected peak of AI‑driven demand for high‑performance GPUs and custom accelerators.

The commercial impact will hinge on how quickly major foundries—TSMC, Samsung and Intel—integrate the new EUV source into their production lines. Wccftech highlights that “fab manufacturers” will need to “aggressively increase production” once the technology is deployed, suggesting that the equipment upgrade path is already in the planning stages for these players. In the short term, the announcement offers a tangible roadmap for alleviating the supply crunch that has forced many AI‑chip customers to accept longer lead times and higher prices. By the end of the decade, the 1 kW EUV source could become the new baseline for high‑volume AI chip manufacturing, reshaping the economics of the semiconductor supply chain.

Finally, the move underscores ASML’s strategic bet that the next wave of AI hardware will be defined not just by design innovation but by manufacturing throughput. The company’s ability to deliver a higher‑power EUV platform, as confirmed by Reuters’ coverage of the “first light” milestone, positions it as the critical enabler of that throughput. If the projected 50 percent output lift is realized, ASML will have turned a technology‑centric advantage into a market‑wide lever, potentially smoothing the AI chip supply curve and tempering the price volatility that has plagued the sector since early 2024.