Home / North America / Canada / Chemical plants / Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex

Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex

Chemical Plant in Canada. Approximate location 50.08811, -110.71542.

Chemical PlantCanadaCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex is a chemical plant in Canada. Its listed capacity is 1,135,000 t of chemical. Chemical plants produce a wide range of industrial and specialty chemicals, many requiring precise temperature control and sustained heat input for reactions and separations. It is operated by CF Industries Inc. By capacity it ranks #2 among 9 chemical plants in Canada. It emits about 1,489,602 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 347k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 9% below the national median for this sector.

1,135,000t of chemical
1,489,602t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#15CO₂ rank in Canada
1.31t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-45257141.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityMedicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex Climate TRACE
CountryCanada Climate TRACE
Coordinates50.08811, -110.71542 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectorchemicals Climate TRACE
Reported capacity1,135,000 t of chemical Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorCF Industries Inc Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e1,489,602 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Canada rank#15 of 127 · top 11.8% calculated
Global chemicals rank#98 of 393 · top 24.9% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

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 1,135,000 t of chemical, Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex is well above the median chemical plant in Canada (540,000 t of chemical). Subsector: chemicals. As chemical plant, it requires high process heat (typically 100–500°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. Chemical plants produce a wide range of industrial and specialty chemicals, many requiring precise temperature control and sustained heat input for reactions and separations.

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

What 1,489,602 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:

347kcars driven for a year
194khomes' annual energy use
25 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

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

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 1.5M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex carries no domestic carbon price; chemical plants are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €112M/yr. 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 ≈30k t–74k t/yr, worth €2.2M€5.6M, 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).

1.5M t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€112M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
30k t–74k t/yr ≈ €2.2M€5.6MDecarbonization 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 chemical plants in Canada

CAN-Division No. 1_methanol: 2,064,000 t of chemical2.1MCAN-Divisi…Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex: 1,135,000 t of chemical1.1MMedicine H…Belle Plaine Nitrogenous Fertilizers: 700,000 t of chemical700kBelle Plai…Brandon Fertilizer Facility: 550,000 t of chemical550kBrandon Fe…Carseland Nitrogen Operation: 540,000 t of chemical540kCarseland …Joffre Fertilizers: 490,000 t of chemical490kJoffre Fer…Courtright Nitrogenous Fertilizers: 453,600 t of chemical454kCourtright…Canada: 440,676 t of chemical441kCanada

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

Operator

Operated by CF Industries Inc. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate zone (Köppen BSk), at 50.1°N in the northern hemisphere.

~10°Ctypical annual mean
~23°Ctypical warm-season
Cold semi-arid steppe: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
38/100environmental-severity index
30.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
1212 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1448 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.11× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1376 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 #2 largest of 9 chemical plants in Canada by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 50.08811, -110.71542. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a chemical plant, the main modular-insulation targets are reactors, crackers, distillation columns, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–500 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 27,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 5,500 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 Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex?

Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex is a chemical plant in Canada. Chemical plants produce a wide range of industrial and specialty chemicals, many requiring precise temperature control and sustained heat input for reactions and separations.

What capacity is listed for Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex?

The open dataset lists 1,135,000 t of chemical of capacity for Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex.

How much CO₂ does Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex emit?

The page uses about 1,489,602 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #15 among facilities in Canada by estimated CO₂.

Where is Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex located?

Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex is in Canada at approximately 50.08811, -110.71542.

Who operates Medicine Hat Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is CF Industries Inc.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.