Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant — United States
Steel Plant in United States. Approximate location 41.65091, -87.63073.
Steel PlantUnited StatesCO₂ estimate (modelled)
Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant is a steel plant in United States. 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. It emits about 1,018,179 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 0.18% of the CO₂e from the 1,910 facilities in United States that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas.
Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-1567187.
Data status
Known source data
Calculated from the dataset
Not available
Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.
Similar facilities by modelled emissions
- Khorasan Steel Complex · 1,019,630 t CO₂e/yr · Iran
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- Mobarakeh Steel Hormuzgan Steel Company plant · 1,042,208 t CO₂e/yr · Iran
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Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.
Operating power plants within 50 km
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PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.
In context: how this facility compares
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 1,018,179 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.
Carbon cost and Scope 1 emissions
At its reported 1.0M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant carries no domestic carbon price — and as a CBAM-covered product, its 1.0M t at the EU CBAM rate (€75/t) is €76.7M/yr of exposure on EU-bound exports. CBAM share rises from 2.5% (2026) to 100% by 2034. 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).
Measured CO₂: 148k t/yr — verified GHGRP (reporting year 2023) (86% below the modelled estimate). Modelled estimate 1.0M t/yr (Climate TRACE), high-confidence match, cross-checked via the measured-vs-modelled dataset (n=711).
Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €85/t, September 10, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: measured (GHGRP RY2023), cross-checked vs Climate TRACE. Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice.
Operator
Operated by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. All facilities by this operator →
Local climate
Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant sits in a hot-summer humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfa), at 41.7°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 thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.
In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1400 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
Nearby industrial sites
- Superior Farms - Grove Division · Food & Beverage
- Blue Island Beer Co · Food & Beverage
- Carl Buddig And Company · Food & Beverage
- American Kitchen Delights Inc. · Food & Beverage
- Ed Miniat Llc · Food & Beverage
- Ford Motor Company - Chicago Assembly Plant · Other Manufacturing · 50,798 t CO₂
Location
Coordinates 41.65091, -87.63073. View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of facility is Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant?
Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant is a steel plant in United States. 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.
How much CO₂ does Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant emit?
The page uses about 1,018,179 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #120 among facilities in United States by estimated CO₂.
Where is Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant located?
Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant is in United States at approximately 41.65091, -87.63073.
Who operates Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel plant?
The operator recorded in the open dataset is Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.