Kazuhiko Nishioka

Kazuhiko Nishioka is the co-founder and CEO of Sun Metalon, a Japan-origin, Chicago-area climate-tech company decarbonizing the metal industry. A former Nippon Steel engineer with a materials science background from Northwestern University, he built a patented, near zero-emission heating technology that turns metal scrap, sludge and swarf into clean, reusable metal pucks on-site. Founded in 2021, Sun Metalon has raised roughly $42M in total funding, partnered with Toyota on aluminum recycling, and drawn Nippon Steel's first venture investment in its 100-plus-year history.