NEMO Industries has selected the technology provider for a key piece of its proposed $3 billion pig iron facility in Ascension Parish, the latest step forward for a project that is still more than a year away from a final investment decision.
Tenova, an Italian industrial engineering and technology company, announced last week that NEMO has selected its ENERGIRON technology for the direct reduction plant that would be part of NEMO Ironworks I, proposed for the west bank of the Mississippi River near Donaldsonville.
If the facility comes to fruition, it will produce 2.3 million metric tons per year of pig iron, an intermediate product used in steelmaking.
Tenova’s system would use natural gas to produce direct reduced iron, or DRI, which would then be used to produce pig iron. Tenova will support NEMO in developing the project’s front-end engineering design, or FEED.
What is NEMO Industries, anyway?
NEMO Industries is a relatively young, venture-backed manufacturing company that came out of stealth in 2025 with the announcement of Ironworks I, its ambitious first project.
The company was co-founded by CEO Daniel Liss and President Michael DuBose.
Liss is an unusual figure for the steel business. He previously co-founded the social media startup Dispo and has said his interest in domestic steel production grew after participating in a war game concerning a hypothetical Chinese invasion of Taiwan. His conclusion was that weaknesses in America’s steel and shipbuilding supply chains represented a strategic vulnerability.
DuBose brings more conventional industry experience. He previously worked in the LNG sector, including at Cheniere Energy.
The company is backed by Cargill, 776, BoxGroup and Lowercarbon Capital. Vivek Ramaswamy, the pharmaceutical entrepreneur who ran for president in 2024 and is now running for governor of Ohio, is a co-founding investor.
The selection of Tenova shows that NEMO is indeed advancing the massive project, which was first announced in October 2025 but has not yet been formally acknowledged by state officials. A final investment decision is now expected in December 2027.
In announcing the project, NEMO outlined plans to invest $3 billion in the first phase and said it hopes to invest an additional $5 billion across two additional phases for a total capital investment of $8 billion over 15 years.
NEMO expects to create 350 permanent jobs in the first phase and an additional 600 jobs across the second and third phases for a total of 950 permanent jobs.
The company is positioning the project as a domestic alternative to increasingly expensive imported pig iron. NEMO co-founder and CEO Daniel Liss last week described tariffs, shipping disruptions and geopolitical volatility as “chokepoints” for U.S. steelmakers.
“Cheaper, cleaner, American made,” Liss wrote on LinkedIn. “NEMO Industries’ pig iron begins in Louisiana with abundant natural gas, superior deepwater ports and the world’s best technology.” Liss was unable to be reached for comment.
