Bunbury City

Aluminium Smelter in Australia. Approximate location -33.30507, 115.56632.

Aluminium SmelterAustraliaCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Bunbury City is an aluminium smelter in Australia. Its listed capacity is 841,323 t of alumina/aluminum. Aluminium smelters use large electric currents to refine alumina into molten aluminium above 900°C, and the hot metal must flow through crucibles and casting equipment. By capacity it ranks #8 among 12 aluminium smelters in Australia. It emits about 1,103,605 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 257k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 37% below the national median for this sector.

841,323t of alumina/aluminum
1,103,605t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#14CO₂ rank in Australia
1.31t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3672948.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityBunbury City Climate TRACE
CountryAustralia Climate TRACE
Coordinates-33.30507, 115.56632 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoraluminum Climate TRACE
Reported capacity841,323 t of alumina/aluminum Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e1,103,605 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Australia rank#14 of 30 · top 46.7% calculated
Global aluminum rank#86 of 257 · top 33.5% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Owner / operatorNot available not in dataset
Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

At 841,323 t of alumina/aluminum, Bunbury City is below the median aluminium smelter in Australia (1,107,004 t of alumina/aluminum). Subsector: aluminum. As aluminium smelter, it requires high process heat (typically 600–900°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Aluminium smelters use large electric currents to refine alumina into molten aluminium above 900°C, and the hot metal must flow through crucibles and casting equipment.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 1,103,605 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

257kcars driven for a year
144khomes' annual energy use
18 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

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

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 1.1M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Bunbury City carries no domestic carbon price — and as a CBAM-covered product, its 1.1M t at the EU CBAM rate (€75/t) is €83.2M/yr of exposure on EU-bound exports. CBAM share rises from 2.5% (2026) to 100% by 2034. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈22k t–55k t/yr, worth €1.7M€4.2M, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

1.1M t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€83.2M/yrCBAM exposure on EU exports
22k t–55k t/yr ≈ €1.7M€4.2MDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest aluminium smelters in Australia

Worsley Alumina Refinery: 4,700,000 t of alumina/aluminum4.7MWorsley Al…Pinjarra Alcoa Alumina Refinery: 4,263,770 t of alumina/aluminum4.3MPinjarra A…Yarwun Alumina Refinery: 3,400,000 t of alumina/aluminum3.4MYarwun Alu…Wagerup Alumina Refinery: 2,900,000 t of alumina/aluminum2.9MWagerup Al…Gladstone Region: 1,583,016 t of alumina/aluminum1.6MGladstone …Murray Shire: 1,107,004 t of alumina/aluminum1.1MMurray Shi…Collie Shire: 974,163 t of alumina/aluminum974kCollie Shi…Bunbury City: 841,323 t of alumina/aluminum841kBunbury Ci…

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

Local climate

Bunbury City sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csa), at 33.3°S in the southern hemisphere.

~17°Ctypical annual mean
~27°Ctypical warm-season
Hot-summer mediterranean: hot summers and mild winters

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

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
39/100environmental-severity index
10.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
18 kmdistance to coast
HighCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1335 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.03× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1268 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #8 largest of 12 aluminium smelters in Australia by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates -33.30507, 115.56632. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a aluminium smelter, the main modular-insulation targets are alumina calciner, casthouse furnaces, hot ducting (electrolysis itself is electric). Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–1,000 °C.

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

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 2,500 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 500 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

External climate finance your country can access

For energy-efficiency projects around process heat, likely external funding channels include:

Sources: country climate-finance facilities and public development-bank programmes.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is Bunbury City?

Bunbury City is a aluminium smelter in Australia. Aluminium smelters use large electric currents to refine alumina into molten aluminium above 900°C, and the hot metal must flow through crucibles and casting equipment.

What capacity is listed for Bunbury City?

The open dataset lists 841,323 t of alumina/aluminum of capacity for Bunbury City.

How much CO₂ does Bunbury City emit?

The page uses about 1,103,605 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #14 among facilities in Australia by estimated CO₂.

Where is Bunbury City located?

Bunbury City is in Australia at approximately -33.30507, 115.56632.

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