SMU Community Chat: NEMO pushes pig iron vision toward 2030 launch

From Hollywood sets to steel mills

Before entering the steel world, the Nemo CEO and co-founder’s resume included a stint in Hollywood, where he worked with Colombian-American actress Sofia Vergara and other diverse entertainers. He has described that chapter as proof that serving underrepresented audiences could be both profitable and impactful.

“There’s a lot of money to be made and a lot of good to be done working for entertainers who actually match the demographics of our nation,” he recalled. “And that, particularly in Sofia… proved to be unbelievably true value.”

That experience, he suggested, reinforced his belief that business success often comes from spotting overlooked markets – a lesson he’s now applying to pig iron.

Concept to capacity

Liss confirmed NEMO’s first facility in Donaldson, La., is targeting a 2030 startup, with an initial annual capacity of 2.3 million tons of granulated pig iron (GPI).

In SMU’s first interview with Liss in October, the CEO and co-founder of NEMO emphasized national security and entrepreneurial drive. On the Dec. 3 Community Chat, he drilled into the commercial logic: US steel mills import more than 6 million tons of pig iron annually. And NEMO aims to capture a meaningful share of that demand.

When probed by an audience question, Liss said the company is in active conversations about its iron ore supply, noting it is considering “the three most obvious sources”: the US, Canada, and Brazil.

Customer demand: “Pig iron is crack”

Perhaps the most striking takeaway was Liss’ candid recounting of customer feedback.

Claiming he was not exaggerating, he said, “100% of the people we talked to said, ‘I have no interest in HBI or DRI in my furnaces. I want pig iron.’”

“Every single one of those people said, I want pig iron,” he told those tuning in to the chat. “The number of times someone told us ‘pig iron is crack’ and ‘granulated pig iron is crack cocaine’ – it’s kind of this legendary steel joke that people make over and over again.”

He suggested scrap shortages and looming constraints on ore-based metallics could make pig iron indispensable in the US over the next five to 10 years.

If NEMO can provide a US-made product that is at cost parity with imports, that would make a lot of sense to customers. “It just removes a ton of worry,” said Liss.

Conversations with customers reveal there is still much uncertainty in the marketplace. “I think there’s genuine interest, and that’s why we’ve been kind of pricking the ears up of a lot of the biggest steelmakers in the country and the world,” he commented.

International ambitions

Our first interview with Liss focused on domestic reshoring. On this week’s Chat, he mentioned seeing Europe and Japan as critical export markets. With Europe’s CBAM carbon regime forcing a coal-to-gas transition, and Japanese mills exploring EAF pathways, NEMO’s lower-emissions pig iron could find strong demand abroad.

“Europe has a huge issue… their gas cost is way too high,” Liss remarked. “With CBAM coming, our belief is the only potential pathway for them to decarbonize quickly is to buy American pig iron.”

Liss claimed NEMO’s Louisiana project would deliver 70% to 80% lower emissions compared to coal-based supply chains.

In the wake of Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel, finalized earlier this year, the CEO said he’s been having conversations with a number of Japanese customers. “There just seems to be a real geopolitical interest in tightening relationships between our two nations,” he commented.

What’s next?

Liss stressed NEMO’s model is designed to be “sleepy, cost-plus, and tolling” – a midstream partner rather than a vertically integrated giant.

“Our ambition is to be what an LNG midstream player is to this industry,” Liss stated.

For steelmakers, the promise is stability in a critical raw material: less price volatility, fewer geopolitical headaches, and a domestic supply chain anchored in cheap American natural gas.

Permitting for NEMO’s pig iron plant is underway, with final investment decisions expected in 2027.

To watch a replay of the full conversation with Daniel Liss, click here.

To access all past and future Community Chats, click here.

And don’t forget to register for the last SMU Community Chat of 2025! It will be on Wednesday, Dec. 17, featuring crowd-favorite Timna Tanners. Click here to register.