Fukang, Xinjiang aluminium plant

Fukang, Xinjiang aluminium plant is an aluminium smelter in China with a reported capacity of 1,936,438 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. It is operated by Xinjiang Tianlong Mineral Co. By capacity it ranks #20 of 141 aluminium smelters tracked in China. It emits about 4,149,320 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 967,207 cars.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3673026.

Nel contesto: come si confronta questo impianto

Con 1,936,438 t of alumina/aluminum, Fukang, Xinjiang aluminium plant è ben al di sopra di la mediana di aluminium smelter in China (372,000 t of alumina/aluminum). Il suo CO₂ per unità di capacità è approssimativamente 17% al di sopra di la mediana di aluminium smelter. Sottosettore: aluminum. Come aluminium smelter, richiede calore di processo intenso (tipicamente 600–900°C) per le sue operazioni industriali essenziali — calore che deve essere fornito da caldaie, forni o combustione diretta, e le perdite attraverso recipienti e tubazioni non isolati rappresentano carburante sprecato. L'isolamento modulare removibile può ridurre queste perdite dell'80–96%, raffreddando superfici a ≤45°C, con payback spesso inferiore a 2 anni. Le fonderie di alluminio utilizzano grandi correnti elettriche per raffinare l'allumina in alluminio fuso sopra i 900°C, e il metallo caldo deve fluire attraverso crogioli e attrezzature di fonderia.

Confronto di capacità e intensità di CO₂ calcolato dai dati delle strutture industriali Climate TRACE; ruolo del settore basato su riferimento ingegneristico.

What 4,149,320 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 China

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

Operator

Operated by Xinjiang Tianlong Mineral Co. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Fukang, Xinjiang aluminium plant sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate zone (Köppen BSk), at 44.1°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 #20 largest of 141 aluminium smelters in China by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Xinjiang aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 3,642,487 t CO₂
• PetroChina Urumqi Petrochemical Refinery · Refinery · 1,004,795 t CO₂
• Urumqi (Wujiaqu) Chemical Complex · Chemical Plant · 396,069 t CO₂
• Fukang aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 182,652 t CO₂
• Xinjiang Mi Dongtianshan Cement Co., Ltd. Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 1,139,876 t CO₂
• Wujiaqu Huaying Building Materials Co., Ltd. · Lime Plant · 269,847 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 44.14979, 87.96845. 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 4,200 MWh/yr (≈ 840 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.

CBAM. Exporters of cement, steel, aluminium, fertiliser, hydrogen and electricity to the EU face the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — cutting embedded emissions (efficiency + insulation) lowers the levy.

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

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