A potential deal between US Steel and Nippon Steel will bring new opportunities to Slovakia

The potential acquisition of US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel is a big opportunity for Slovakia and US Steel Kosice (USSK). However, government support will be crucial to ensure the decarbonization of the company, said Environment Minister Tomas Taraba. This is reported by eReport.

At the beginning of the month, representatives of the Slovak government met with Nippon Steel in Tokyo to discuss the future of USSK.

At the same time, at a recent meeting with representatives of USSK’s trade unions, Taraba said that modernizing production, fulfilling decarbonization commitments and maintaining the company’s competitiveness were his priorities.

«It is obvious that without the participation of the state and cooperation with partners on both sides, it will not be possible to successfully move the steel plants in Kosice towards decarbonization,» the minister said.

According to Taraba, the guarantee of €600 million in financial assistance promised by the state is part of this process, even if the government was forced to guarantee these resources from other financial schemes than those originally envisaged.

As GMK Center reported earlier, last June, it was reported that US Steel Kosice would receive €300 million from the government to implement decarbonization projects as part of the EU’s ambitions to reduce emissions in the industry. The company plans to modernize its production facilities by replacing two blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces. The total cost of the project is estimated at over €1 billion. In addition to US Steel Kosice, the Slovak government will provide funding to two other companies to achieve their decarbonization plans.