Smurfit Kappa Nervión Pulp Mill — Spain

Smurfit Kappa Nervión Pulp Mill is a pulp & paper mill in Spain. Its listed capacity is 325,000 t of pulp & paper. Pulp and paper mills generate their own steam for the pulping process and paper dryers, running large-scale boiler systems where heat loss directly reduces efficiency. By capacity it ranks #3 among 3 pulp & paper mills in Spain. It emits about 99,615 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 0.21% of the CO₂e from the 91 facilities in Spain that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 43% below the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-44375517.

In context: how this facility compares

At 325,000 t of pulp & paper, Smurfit Kappa Nervión Pulp Mill is below the median pulp & paper mill in Spain (515,000 t of pulp & paper). Subsector: pulp-and-paper. As pulp & paper mill, it requires high process heat (typically 150–250°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Pulp and paper mills generate their own steam for the pulping process and paper dryers, running large-scale boiler systems where heat loss directly reduces efficiency.

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

What 99,615 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 pulp & paper mills in Spain

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

Local climate

Smurfit Kappa Nervión Pulp Mill sits in a temperate oceanic climate zone (Köppen Cfb), at 43.2°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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1383 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 #3 largest of 3 pulp & paper mills in Spain by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• ALCOA TRANSFORMACION DE PRODUCTOS, S.L. (ALCOA TRANSFORMACIÓN DE PRODUCTOS, S.L.) · Metals Plant · 368,000 t CO₂
• Lemona Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 215,109 t CO₂
• Sidenor Aceros Especiales Basauri steel plant · Steel Plant · 34,497 t CO₂
• Arrigorriaga Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 291,876 t CO₂
• ArcelorMittal Sestao steel plant · Steel Plant · 315,452 t CO₂
• Unilever Foods España, S.A. (Unilever Foods España, S.A.) · Food & Beverage

Location

Coordinates 43.18281, -2.66058. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions