In a stunning development that could reshape the global semiconductor landscape, Chinese scientists have reportedly constructed a functional prototype of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine. This achievement, long considered impossible by Western industry leaders, was accomplished in a high-security laboratory in Shenzhen and marks a significant leap in China's quest for chip self-sufficiency.
The "Manhattan Project" Prototype
According to a Reuters report, the massive machine, which occupies nearly an entire factory floor, is operational and has successfully generated the crucial extreme ultraviolet light. The prototype was completed in early 2025 and is currently undergoing rigorous testing. While it has not yet produced working semiconductor chips, its mere existence challenges years of Western assumptions and export controls designed to prevent such an outcome.
The project is described as China's version of the "Manhattan Project," a six-year government initiative spearheaded by the Communist Party's Central Science and Technology Commission, led by Xi Jinping's confidant Ding Xuexiang. Tech giant Huawei is playing a key coordinating role across a vast network of companies and state research institutes, involving thousands of engineers.
Reverse Engineering and Recruitment of ASML Veterans
The breakthrough's foundation lies in a bold recruitment strategy. The development team includes recently retired, Chinese-born former engineers from Dutch semiconductor equipment monopoly ASML. These experts were reportedly recruited with lucrative signing bonuses ranging from $420,000 to $700,000.
To maintain utmost secrecy, some veteran engineers were provided with fake identification cards and worked under aliases, discovering colleagues from ASML in similar clandestine roles. They applied their intimate knowledge to reverse-engineer ASML's closely guarded technology, a process that the Dutch firm itself said took nearly two decades and billions of euros to perfect commercially.
ASML has confirmed to Reuters that no EUV system has ever been sold to a customer in China, due to U.S.-led export bans in place since 2018 and expanded in 2022. In response to the recruitment, ASML stated it "vigilantly guards" trade secrets and has pursued legal action against theft, including a notable $845 million judgment in 2019. However, the defendant in that case filed for bankruptcy and continues to operate in Beijing with state support.
Defying Timelines and Geopolitical Expectations
This development directly contradicts public assessments from ASML's top leadership. As recently as April 2025, CEO Christophe Fouquet stated that China would need "many, many years" to develop EUV technology, suggesting in December 2024 that Chinese chipmaking was 10 to 15 years behind the West due to export bans.
Yet, the Shenzhen prototype suggests a dramatically accelerated timeline. The Chinese government has set an ambitious target of producing working chips from this technology by 2028, though sources close to the project believe 2030 is a more realistic goal. Even the later date is years ahead of the decade-long timeline projected by many Western analysts.
To circumvent strict export controls, China has employed resourceful methods, including salvaging components from older ASML machines and sourcing parts through international secondhand markets. Networks of intermediary companies have sometimes been used to mask the ultimate buyer. Listings on platforms like Alibaba Auction have shown older ASML lithography equipment being sold in China as recently as October 2025.
The ultimate aim, as one source told Reuters, is clear: "The aim is for China to eventually be able to make advanced chips on machines that are entirely China-made... China wants the United States 100% kicked out of its supply chains."
EUV lithography machines are the pinnacle of semiconductor manufacturing, essential for producing the cutting-edge chips that power everything from artificial intelligence and smartphones to advanced weapons systems. ASML, with machines costing around $250 million each, has held a global monopoly on this technology. China's prototype signifies that its biggest breakthrough may not have come from simply circumventing Western rules, but from leveraging the very expertise those rules were designed to protect.
