San Ciprian aluminium plant — Spain

San Ciprian aluminium plant is an aluminium smelter in Spain. Its listed capacity is 9,100 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. By capacity it ranks #2 among 2 aluminium smelters in Spain. It emits about 20,116 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 0.04% of the CO₂e from the 91 facilities in Spain that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 6% above the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-43765124.

In context: how this facility compares

At 9,100 t of alumina/aluminum, San Ciprian aluminium plant is below the median aluminium smelter in Spain (66,508 t of alumina/aluminum). Subsector: aluminum. As aluminium smelter, it requires high process heat (typically 600–900°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. 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.

What 20,116 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 aluminium smelters in Spain

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

Local climate

San Ciprian aluminium plant sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csb), at 43.7°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 marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1379 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.06× 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 aluminium smelters in Spain by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• San Ciprian alumina refinery · Aluminium Smelter · 1,860,213 t CO₂
• ALUMINIO ESPAÑOL, SA · Metals Plant · 403,000 t CO₂
• Megasa Siderúrgica Narón steel plant · Steel Plant · 70,159 t CO₂
• Grupo Empresarial ENCE S.A. Divisíon de Celulosa - Pulp Mill Navia · Pulp & Paper Mill · 209,957 t CO₂
• Lugo Province · Aluminium Smelter · 94,176 t CO₂
• ALCOA INESPAL, S.A. - LA CORUÑA · Metals Plant · 112,000 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 43.69697, -7.45774. View on OpenStreetMap. Location shown at industrial-zone / municipality precision (shared source geocode).

Frequently asked questions