Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland steel plant — United States

Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland steel plant is a steel plant in United States. Its listed capacity is 4,100,000 t of steel. Steel plants burn coal in blast furnaces or use electric arcs to melt scrap; in both cases the molten metal must be kept above 1,500°C and transferred through extensive hot piping and vessels. It is operated by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. By capacity it ranks #5 among 49 steel plants in United States. It emits about 4,072,302 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 0.72% of the CO₂e from the 1,910 facilities in United States that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 7% above the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-1567108.

In context: how this facility compares

At 4,100,000 t of steel, Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland steel plant is well above the median steel plant in United States (907,000 t of steel). Subsector: iron-and-steel. As steel plant, it requires high process heat (typically 800–1500°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Steel plants burn coal in blast furnaces or use electric arcs to melt scrap; in both cases the molten metal must be kept above 1,500°C and transferred through extensive hot piping and vessels.

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

What 4,072,302 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:

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

Capacity vs largest steel plants in United States

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

Operator

Operated by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland steel plant sits in a hot-summer humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfa), at 41.5°N in the northern hemisphere.

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

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1399 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.08× the loss at a 20 °C reference. 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).

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 #5 largest of 49 steel plants in United States by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• Howmet Aerospace Inc. - Cleveland Works · Other Manufacturing · 68,253 t CO₂
• Nestle Professional · Food & Beverage
• Charter Steel Cleveland plant · Steel Plant · 75,775 t CO₂
• Western Reserve Meadery, Llc · Food & Beverage
• Noble Beast Brewing Llc · Food & Beverage
• Symba & Snap Gourmet Food, Inc. · Food & Beverage

Location

Coordinates 41.46412, -81.67673. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions