ASML reported that Europe accounted for 1% of its revenue share in 2025, 5% in 2024, 4% in 2023, and 2% in 2022, and the company says it sold “absolutely nothing” there in 2026. The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker also noted that in the first two quarters of 2026, Europe accounted for 0% of its revenue. European chipmakers bought no lithography equipment from ASML in 2026.
Frank Heemskerk, executive vice president of public affairs at ASML, put it bluntly. “We are selling absolutely nothing in Europe,” he said. “Because Europe is not investing and because no chip factories are being built in Europe. That is genuinely worrying.”
Heemskerk pointed to the root of the problem. “There simply is no demand here for these kinds of highly specialized machines. That is the problem. So apart from trying to attract investment with capital on the supply side, we should do much more to create demand.”
“We are selling absolutely nothing in Europe.”
ASML’s Push for Guaranteed Demand
The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML is asking European governments to pool and secure demand for locally produced chips. The company has also reached out to speak with Ursula von der Leyen in Europe, noting: “try to harness the market power and dynamism that ultimately do exist in Europe in a number of areas.”
The case for government support rests on a single premise: a pledge to buy European chips will draw the investment needed to build the factories. Remove that promise, and the machines go unsold and the factories never come into existence.
Europe’s Chip Projects Are Real, But They Fall Short
Europe does have some significant chip projects underway. Intel runs its massive Fab 34 near Leixlip, Ireland, and recently announced plans to invest €5 billion in the facility. ESMC — backed by TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, and NXP — is building a fab near Dresden costing around €15 billion. Infineon opened its new €5 billion Smart Power Fab in Dresden in July 2026. GlobalFoundries broke ground on the latest major expansion and upgrade of Fab 1 in Dresden this March.
These manufacturing sites are all constructed by multinational corporations. The European fabs currently under construction are not leading-edge facilities; they will not be using EUV lithography scanners, let alone the later High-NA EUV technology.
Comparing Europe’s Plans to the Rest of the World
The European fab projects currently under development do not come close to the size of those being constructed in Taiwan, South Korea, the United States, and Japan, which are drawing investments measured in tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars. The difference in scale is considerable.
The worry at ASML is rooted in reality. The firm sells the most advanced lithography equipment on Earth, and its business depends entirely on customers purchasing it.
The Bottom Line
Europe’s aspirations do not match its deeds. The continent possesses both capital and ambition, yet what it fails to secure is assured demand from major European buyers and customers.
ASML’s concern centers on a gap: Europe is not investing, and ASML is not selling. That split is the company’s next worry.
Source material: “ASML says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026,” tomshardware.com.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.