Feature ArticleSTARTUP SUPPORT TO BUILD THE FUTURE
The Venus-L6 unit is installed and operated by client companies within their own factories. A single unit can recycle up to 500 tons of metal waste annually into high-purity metal.
Making on-site recycling possible
Metalworking processes such as casting, machining, and polishing inevitably produce large quantities of waste, much of which is traded as low-value scrap. Some scrap does not even get recycled and ends up in landfills. Addressing this issue is the mission of Sun Metalon, a metal recycling startup founded in 2021 by its CEO NISHIOKA Kazuhiko.
Sun Metalon’s head office is in Illinois but it has development centers in both Japan and the U.S. Its flagship “Venus-L6” unit removes oil, water and other contaminants from metal scrap, recycling it into high-purity metal, all on-site. “It not only consumes less energy than conventional methods, but also transforms metal waste into high-purity metal, and takes up little space,” emphasizes NISHIOKA.
“I want to lower the hurdles to starting an industry,” says NISHIOKA Kazuhiko, co-founder and CEO of Sun Metalon. This enthusiasm is fueled by what he saw during his volunteer activities in Africa as a student, and by his awareness of future changes in the steelmaking industry gained from his work at Nippon Steel.
Metal recycling has traditionally been a “centralized process,” as NISHIOKA explains: scrap is brought to one location and recycled using large machinery that heats the metal using heavy fuel oil or gas, thus emitting carbon dioxide. Since high-value and low-value metals are mixed together, the result is a low-value end product.
By contrast, Venus is electric-powered and energy efficient. Using proprietary technology, it heats the scrap from within, quickly producing high-purity metal. The compact, inexpensive unit can be installed at a manufacturing facility, allowing on-site recycling of up to 500 tons of metal annually. If powered by renewable energy, it is a zero-emission solution.
“The technology is constantly being improved. We are also developing a larger ‘Neptune’ model that can remove not only oil and water but also oxygen. Since the design is modular, upgrading from a Venus will be easy.”
With an eye on the steelmaking industry’s shift toward decentralized procurement, a new unit—larger than Venus and capable of removing oxygen as well as oil and water—is under development. This is Neptune (artist’s rendering). NISHIOKA says that this unit will enable not only metal recycling but also metal manufacturing.
A shift toward decentralized procurement
Sun Metalon's technology is protected by multiple patents, giving it a competitive edge over new market entrants. A former Nippon Steel engineer, NISHIOKA believes the steel industry is shifting from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, and from overseas procurement of iron ore and other raw materials to decentralized sourcing, including waste metal. He hopes his company’s products will contribute to resource circulation, decarbonization, and Japan’s economic security. Its customer base includes the automotive industry.
NISHIOKA traces his entrepreneurial streak back to volunteer work in Africa during his student days. “The operation of orphanages depended on personal initiative, and I was made painfully aware of the reality, with young lives being lost before my eyes. Even if you help them, unless sustainable industries are created and children can become independent, nothing will change. With those thoughts in mind, when I came up with technology for resource circulation, it was like a light switch had been flicked on.”
With a focus on economic rationality, NISHIOKA aims to realize a world where industries can be born anywhere, guided by the three pillars of “economical,” “local,” and “sustainable.” Global expansion is indispensable to this vision.
In May 2025, JBIC made an equity investment in Sun Metalon, to NISHIOKA’s delight: “JBIC is well-known both in Japan and internationally, so being its first startup investment created quite an impact. We have already been introduced to numerous overseas investors, who are key to our global expansion. Going forward, I hope JBIC will provide support in strengthening our access to top management.”
Employees with a Venus unit at Sun Metalon’s U.S. headquarters in fall 2025.
Co-founder and CEO
Sun Metalon Inc.
NISHIOKA Kazuhiko
After completing graduate studies at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Engineering, he worked at Nippon Steel for 11 years, responsible for production technology and furnace development. He founded Sun Metalon in 2021 based on a new technological approach to heating metal for recycling, which he is currently promoting in Japan and the U.S.
