Obourg Cement Plant — Belgium

Obourg Cement Plant is a cement plant in Belgium. Its listed capacity is 1,700,000 t of cement. Cement plants heat limestone to 1,400°C in rotary kilns — one of the hottest industrial processes — and must control temperature precisely across the entire kiln length. It is operated by Holcim (Belgique) SA. By capacity it ranks #2 among 2 cement plants in Belgium. It emits about 591,351 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 2.7% of the CO₂e from the 22 facilities in Belgium that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-32437253.

In context: how this facility compares

At 1,700,000 t of cement, Obourg Cement Plant is below the median cement plant in Belgium (2,300,000 t of cement). Subsector: cement. As cement plant, it requires high process heat (typically 800–1400°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Cement plants heat limestone to 1,400°C in rotary kilns — one of the hottest industrial processes — and must control temperature precisely across the entire kiln length.

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

What 591,351 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 cement plants in Belgium

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

Operator

Operated by Holcim (Belgique) SA.

Local climate

Obourg Cement Plant sits in a temperate oceanic climate zone (Köppen Cfb), at 50.5°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 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 1405 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 #2 largest of 2 cement plants in Belgium by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• BEL-Hainaut_ammonia · Chemical Plant · 264,144 t CO₂
• Raffinerie Tirlemontoise Sa - Site De Brugelette · Food & Beverage
• Olympia · Food & Beverage
• Saarstahl Ascoval Saint-Saulve steel plant · Steel Plant · 28,197 t CO₂
• Thy Marcinelle Charleroi steel plant · Steel Plant · 51,699 t CO₂
• Gaurain Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 823,157 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 50.47267, 3.99263. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions