Sun Metalon

Sun Metalon (SUN METALON Inc.) is a deep tech company founded in 2021 that develops, manufactures and sells on-site metal recycling systems for the metal manufacturing industry. Its core is a proprietary, patented metal heating method that uses electromagnetic energy together with an engineered heating booster to rapidly heat metal waste and its fluid contaminants without melting the metal itself, removing impurities from scrap while avoiding fossil-fuel combustion. The company describes the process as producing zero CO2 emissions and reducing energy consumption by 85% versus existing methods for heating and purifying metal chips and scrap.

The commercial product line is the Venus family of on-site Regeneration Units, including the Venus L-6, plus VENUS-L for large-throughput recycling and VENUS-S as a standalone unit for localized recycling. Units are installed at scrap-generating plants — foundries, machine shops, die casters and other manufacturers — where they clean, densify and standardize swarf, chips, turnings, sludge and grindings into traceable, high-purity briquettes or dry pucks that retain the original alloy chemistry and can feed electric arc furnaces or replace ingots and high-grade scrap. The company reports melt yields of roughly 90% or more across steel and specialty iron alloys, aluminum, and copper and nickel alloys, and notes that up to 20% of produced metal is otherwise lost as scrap during manufacturing.

The same heating principle is also being applied to metal additive manufacturing, where the company describes a process based on a new heating principle offering up to 500 times faster speed and 90% cost reduction; recycling applications have been prioritized for their shorter-term returns. Core patents covering metal purification, refining and diffusion bonding have been granted in Japan and the United States.

Founding story

Sun Metalon was founded in 2021 by CEO and co-founder Kazuhiko Nishioka, a former Nippon Steel engineer, who developed a proprietary method for efficiently heating metal. Kei Takizawa is co-founder and President of Sun Metalon Japan. The company applied the heating technology to removing impurities from metal scrap and built operations across Japan and the United States, supported by a technical advisory board drawn from MIT, Oxford, the University of Tokyo and UC Irvine.

Business model

Sun Metalon develops, manufactures and sells on-site metal recycling/regeneration systems that are deployed inside customer factories, allowing scrap to be reprocessed without third-party handling or long-term storage. Alongside equipment supply, the company states it is expanding its own metal manufacturing capabilities using local metal resources, and positions the output briquettes as a supply of feedstock for EAFs and downstream buyers.

Sale of on-site metal regeneration units (Venus product line) to foundries, machine shops and other scrap-generating manufacturers, with value framed as recovered metal value plus reduced waste-handling and energy costs.

Traction

Core patents granted in Japan and the United States; U.S. plant expanded in spring 2024 to serve as a collaboration hub and metal manufacturing and recycling center; established partnerships with automotive, construction machinery, heavy industry and steel manufacturers, including joint development with Toyota and joint research with Komatsu; recognitions include the Mizuho Innovation Award 2024.4Q, first prize at Monozukuri Hardware Cup 2022 and first runner-up at the NAMIC 2022 pitch event.

Latest developments

In February 2026 the company announced that Colorado invested nearly $1 million in its zero-emission metal recycling. In May 2025 it closed the second tranche of its Series A, a $9.1 million private placement from Nippon Steel Corporation, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Airbus Ventures and the Shimadzu Future Innovation Fund managed by Global Brain, bringing cumulative capital raised to $39.8 million including loan facilities; proceeds are earmarked for expanding operations in the U.S. and Japan. It received the Mizuho Innovation Award 2024.4Q in January 2025.