Laterrière aluminium plant

Laterrière aluminium plant is an aluminium smelter in Canada with a reported capacity of 260,000 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. It is operated by Rio Tinto Ltd. By capacity it ranks #8 of 11 aluminium smelters tracked in Canada. It emits about 552,536 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 128,796 cars.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3672959.

في السياق: كيف يتم مقارنة هذا المنشأة

عند 260,000 t of alumina/aluminum، يكون Laterrière aluminium plant حوالي متوسط aluminium smelter في Canada (314,000 t of alumina/aluminum). القطاع الفرعي: aluminum. كـ aluminium smelter، يتطلب حرارة عملية مكثفة (عادة 600–900°C) لعملياته الصناعية الأساسية — حرارة يجب توفيرها بواسطة الغلايات أو الأفران أو الاحتراق المباشر، والخسائر من خلال الحاويات والأنابيب غير المعزولة تمثل وقود مهدر. يمكن للعزل المعياري القابل للإزالة أن يقلل هذه الخسائر بمقدار 80-96٪، وتبريد الأسطح إلى ≤45°C، مع فترة استرجاع غالباً أقل من سنتين. تستخدم مصاهر الألومنيوم تيارات كهربائية كبيرة لتحسين الألومينا إلى ألومنيوم مذاب فوق 900°C، ويجب أن يتدفق المعدن الساخن عبر البواتق ومعدات الصب.

مقارنة السعة وكثافة CO₂ محسوبة من بيانات منشآت Climate TRACE الصناعية؛ دور القطاع بناءً على مرجع الهندسة.

What 552,536 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's reported annual CO₂e in the everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest aluminium smelters in Canada

Reported capacity (t of alumina/aluminum), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Rio Tinto Ltd. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Laterrière aluminium plant sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfb), at 48.3°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

How it compares & nearby sites

The #8 largest of 11 aluminium smelters in Canada by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Arvida aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 493,032 t CO₂
• Grande Baie aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 501,533 t CO₂
• Alma aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 1,020,066 t CO₂
• Valero Jean-Gaulin Refinery · Refinery · 2,459,580 t CO₂
• Saint Basile Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 615,898 t CO₂
• Rolland Enterprises Inc. - Breakey Fibres Division · Pulp & Paper Mill · 88,433 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 48.30084, -71.12914. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

A aluminium smelter like this runs hot equipment that sheds heat continuously: alumina calciner, casthouse furnaces, hot ducting (electrolysis itself is electric) (surface/process temperatures around 150–1,000 °C). These surfaces lose energy to the air year-round; removable modular insulation cuts that loss, brings outer surfaces to ≤45 °C, and unclips for inspection.

electrolysis is mostly electricity (Scope 2) + anode process; on-site combustion small - insulation mainly relevant to alumina refining/casthouse.

Indicative recoverable energy

On an already-insulated site (pipes & valves in cladding / jackets), closing the remaining gaps, flanges and damaged sections and switching to removable covers indicatively recovers about 2,100 MWh/yr (≈ 430 t CO₂/yr) — scaled to this site's reported CO₂ within its sector. Bare or damaged surfaces recover several times more.

See Inzonex insulation → Estimate your site →

Indicative, not a measurement. Conservative floor for an already-insulated plant; a TIPCHECK on-site audit gives a measured figure. Industry context: EiiF TIPCHECK — industrial insulation can save ~14 Mtoe/yr in EU, payback typically <2 years.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Bare hot surfaces here exceed the touch-safe limit (EN ISO 13732-1); insulation to ≤45 °C is a worker-safety and compliance win. And before electrification, fuel-switching or CCS, eliminating surface heat loss is the cheapest, fastest, lowest-risk step — audit the bare spots first, rip-and-replace later.

External climate finance your country can access

Domestic energy-efficiency grants are limited here; industrial decarbonisation is mainly funded externally:

• Japan JCM (Joint Crediting Mechanism) — Japan co-finances diffusion of decarbonising tech incl. INDUSTRIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY in partner countries, in exchange for carbon credits. Channels: MOEJ model projects, ADB trust funds, NEDO demonstrations.
• UK International Climate Finance (ICF / ODA) — ~GBP 6bn ODA over 3 yrs; industrial-decarbonisation flows via Climate Investment Funds (CIF) - Clean Technology Fund.
• Green Climate Fund (GCF) + ADB / World Bank / UNIDO — Concessional finance & grants for industrial energy efficiency. E.g. GCF $200M ADB-led India Green Finance Facility; World Bank FP071 'Scaling Up Energy Efficiency for Industrial Enterprises in Vietnam'; ASEAN ACGF energy-efficiency revolving funds incl. SMEs.

Routed via national development banks / accredited entities — not a direct factory grant. Verified 2026.

Frequently asked questions