At the same time, state support will be crucial for the decarbonization of US Steel Kosice
The potential acquisition of US Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel is a huge opportunity for Slovakia and US Steel Kosice (USSK). However, government support will be crucial to ensure the company's decarbonization, said Environment Minister Tomas Taraba. This is reported by e-Report.
Earlier this month, Slovak government representatives met with Nippon Steel in Tokyo to discuss the future of the USSK.
At the same time, in a recent meeting with USSK union representatives, Taraba said that modernizing production, meeting decarbonization commitments and maintaining the company's competitiveness were his priorities.
“It is obvious that without state participation and cooperation with partners on both sides, it will not be possible to successfully move the Kosice steel mills towards decarbonization,” said the minister.
According to Taraba, the guarantee of 600 million euros in financial assistance promised by the State is part of this process, even though the government was forced to guarantee these resources from other financial regimes different from those initially foreseen.
As the GMK Center previously reported, last June it was reported that US Steel Kosice would receive 300 million euros 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 more than one billion euros. In addition to US Steel Kosice, the Slovak government will provide financing to two other companies to realize their decarbonization plans.
