Lonza Ltd. , Visp — Switzerland

Lonza Ltd. , Visp is a petrochemical plant in Switzerland. Its listed capacity is 25,000 t of ethylene. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes. It emits about 32,625 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 1.5% of the CO₂e from the 21 facilities in Switzerland that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-18648376.

In context: how this facility compares

At 25,000 t of ethylene, Lonza Ltd. , Visp is around the median petrochemical plant in Switzerland (25,000 t of ethylene). Subsector: petrochemical-steam-cracking. As petrochemical plant, it requires high process heat (typically 300–800°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes.

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

What 32,625 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.

Local climate

Lonza Ltd. , Visp sits in a tundra climate zone (Köppen ET), at 46.3°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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1529 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.18× 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

• Constellium Valais SA · Metals Plant · 13,900 t CO₂
• CHE-Visp_ammonia · Chemical Plant · 39,480 t CO₂
• Constellium Valais SA · Metals Plant · 6,110 t CO₂
• Cremo Sa / Werk Thun · Food & Beverage · 5,520 t CO₂
• Caravate Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 223,800 t CO₂
• Cartiera Italiana S.p.A. Pulp Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill

Location

Coordinates 46.30112, 7.88796. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions