Aluminium Smelter in United Kingdom. Approximate location 56.82817, -5.0753.
Aluminium SmelterUnited KingdomCO₂ estimate (modelled)
Fort William aluminium plant is an aluminium smelter in United Kingdom. Its listed capacity is 38,000 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. It is operated by Alvance British Aluminium. It emits about 82,184 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 19k passenger cars.
Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3673062.
Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.
Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.
PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.
At 38,000 t of alumina/aluminum, Fort William aluminium plant is around the median aluminium smelter in United Kingdom (38,000 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.
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.
At its reported 82k t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Fort William aluminium plant carries €5.3M/yr of carbon at the full UK ETS price (€65/t CO₂). Free allocation phases out to 2034 (Reg. (EU) 2023/956), so today's bill is lower and rising toward this full-price figure. 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 ≈2k t–4k t/yr, worth €107k–€267k, with payback up to 2 years.
Carbon price: UK ETS €65/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 →
Operated by Alvance British Aluminium. All facilities by this operator →
Fort William aluminium plant sits in a subpolar oceanic climate zone (Köppen Cfc), at 56.8°N in the northern hemisphere.
Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1443 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.11× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1371 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.
Coordinates 56.82817, -5.0753. View on OpenStreetMap.
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.
A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 1,800 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 360 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.
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.
Funding. Grants for industrial energy efficiency / deep decarbonization in England, Wales, NI; min grant lowered to GBP 75k for SMEs. official source · verified 2026
Status: Phase 3 closed spring 2024 — verify current open phase before 'apply now'.
Obligation. Mandatory for 'large undertakings': >=250 employees OR turnover >GBP 36M and balance sheet >GBP 18M. Qualification date 31 Dec 2026; compliance notification by 5 Dec 2027. (applies as a rule above the stated threshold — we do not hold this site's metered energy use). official source · verified 2026
Programme terms verified 2026-06-18; confirm the current open phase before applying. Eligibility depends on a site's energy use / headcount, which we do not hold — not a per-facility eligibility determination.
Fort William aluminium plant is a aluminium smelter in United Kingdom. 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.
The open dataset lists 38,000 t of alumina/aluminum of capacity for Fort William aluminium plant.
The page uses about 82,184 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #35 among facilities in United Kingdom by estimated CO₂.
Fort William aluminium plant is in United Kingdom at approximately 56.82817, -5.0753.
The operator recorded in the open dataset is Alvance British Aluminium.
