Nippon Steel Corp. aims to narrow down potential locations by next summer and make a final decision by the end of 2026 on a site for its United States Steel Corp. subsidiary to build a plant in the U.S. market, Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori said in a recent interview.

Following its acquisition of U.S. Steel in June, Nippon Steel plans to invest US$4 billion to construct a new facility equipped with two electric furnaces that primarily use scrap iron. The furnaces are expected to have a combined annual crude steel capacity of about 3 million tons.

Mori said factors such as land availability, electricity supply, rail and road networks, human resources, and local policy measures will be considered in choosing a site. He added that various states have expressed interest. The company will also evaluate nearby steel demand and material procurement conditions as it narrows the list of candidate sites.