Kidricevo aluminium plant

Kidricevo aluminium plant is an aluminium smelter in Slovenia with a reported capacity of 17,326 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. It emits about 38,144 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 8,891 cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is about 5% above the median aluminium smelter.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3673137.

Nel contesto: come si confronta questo impianto

Con 17,326 t of alumina/aluminum, Kidricevo aluminium plant è attorno a la mediana di aluminium smelter in Slovenia (17,326 t of alumina/aluminum). 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 38,144 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.

Local climate

Kidricevo aluminium plant sits in a temperate oceanic climate zone (Köppen Cfb), at 46.4°N in the northern hemisphere.

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

How it compares & nearby sites

Nearby industrial sites

• Talum · Metals Plant · 101,766 t CO₂
• Retznei Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 348,955 t CO₂
• VIPAP VIDEM KRŠKO d.d. Pulp Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill · 27,021 t CO₂
• Trbovlje Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 200,363 t CO₂
• Beti D.D. · Textiles · 3,435 t CO₂
• Wietersdorf Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 165,380 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 46.39239, 15.79154. 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 1,800 MWh/yr (≈ 360 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.

EU: funding & obligation

Obligation. Under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (Art. 8), large undertakings (>250 staff or >€50M turnover / >€43M balance) must run an energy audit every 4 years or operate a certified energy management system (ISO 50001).

Funding. National energy-efficiency grants and white-certificate schemes typically apply — check the local programme.

EED Article 8, transposed nationally. Confirm current national terms.

Frequently asked questions