Nippon Steel plans to invest in electric arc furnace technology at the Košice steelworks in Slovakia, operated through its U.S. Steel Europe unit. The move signals a major shift away from blast furnace production toward a cleaner, lower-carbon steelmaking route. Košice is Slovakia's largest industrial employer, making workforce transition a key challenge alongside the technical investment. The project aligns Nippon Steel's European operations its global carbon neutrality target for 2050.