Nippon Steel will build an electric arc furnace and oxygen plant at the Košice steelworks operated by USSK, its key European site. The investment will total approximately €900 million, with operations targeted to begin in 2030. The new electric arc furnace will have annual capacity of approximately 1.6 million tonnes, creating a production system combining it with blast furnaces.
Nippon Steel will strengthen USSK’s European operations by building an electric arc furnace and oxygen plant at its Košice steelworks. The investment will total approximately €900 million, and the new electric arc furnace, with annual capacity of approximately 1.6 million tonnes, is scheduled to begin operations in 2030. Under a production system combining it with existing blast furnaces, the company aims to ensure a stable supply of high-quality steel products while reducing CO2 emissions.
USSK has entered into a subsidy agreement with the Slovak government and will receive a total of €350 million from the EU Modernisation Fund. The subsidies comprise €310 million for the electric arc furnace and €40 million for the oxygen plant, with the funds to be provided through the Slovak government.
Nippon Steel plans to make USSK a direct subsidiary effective 1 October and change its corporate name to Nippon Steel Slovakia, s.r.o. (NSSK). Through this move, the company plans to position it as a core European site.
USSK has annual crude steel production capacity of approximately 4.5 million tonnes in Košice, eastern Slovakia. Combined with the planned investment, this will expand Nippon Steel’s production system in Europe.