Home / Europe / Germany / Oil refineries / Total Leuna Refinery

Total Leuna Refinery

Refinery in Germany. Approximate location 51.28805, 11.99325.

RefineryGermanyCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Total Leuna Refinery is a refinery in Germany. Its listed capacity is 227,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by TotalEnergies SE. By capacity it ranks #6 among 12 oil refineries in Germany. It emits about 2,810,434 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 655k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 44% above the national median for this sector.

227,000BBL per day
2,810,434t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#12CO₂ rank in Germany
12.38t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-1753570.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityTotal Leuna Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryGermany Climate TRACE
Coordinates51.28805, 11.99325 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity227,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorTotalEnergies SE Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e2,810,434 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Germany rank#12 of 118 · top 10.2% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#90 of 630 · top 14.3% 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 227,000 BBL per day, Total Leuna Refinery is around the median refinery in Germany (227,000 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°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. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

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

What 2,810,434 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:

655kcars driven for a year
367khomes' annual energy use
47 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

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

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 2.8M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Total Leuna Refinery carries €223M/yr of carbon at the full EU ETS price (€79/t CO₂). Free allocation phases out to 2034 (Reg. (EU) 2023/956), so today's bill is lower and rising toward this full-price figure. 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 ≈56k t–141k t/yr, worth €4.5M€11.2M, with payback up to 2 years.

2.8M t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€223M/yrcarbon value · full EU ETS price
56k t–141k t/yr ≈ €4.5M€11.2MDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU ETS €79/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 oil refineries in Germany

Shell Rheinland Werk Wesseling Cologne Refinery: 339,000 BBL per day339kShell Rhei…Mineraloelraffinerie Oberrhein Karlsruhe Refinery: 313,000 BBL per day313kMineraloel…BP Gelsenkirchen Refinery: 265,000 BBL per day265kBP Gelsenk…Wilhelmshaven Refinery: 260,000 BBL per day260kWilhelmsha…PCK Schwedt Refinery: 234,000 BBL per day234kPCK Schwed…Total Leuna Refinery: 227,000 BBL per day227kTotal Leun…Bayernoil Vohburg Refinery: 120,000 BBL per day120kBayernoil …Gunvor Ingolstadt Refinery: 110,000 BBL per day110kGunvor Ing…

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by TotalEnergies SE. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Total Leuna Refinery sits in a temperate oceanic climate zone (Köppen Cfb), at 51.3°N in the northern hemisphere.

~11°Ctypical annual mean
~18°Ctypical warm-season
Temperate oceanic: 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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
25/100environmental-severity index
18.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
362 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1406 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.08× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1336 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 #6 largest of 12 oil refineries in Germany by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 51.28805, 11.99325. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 68,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 14,000 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.

Germany: funding & obligation

Funding. Grant 20-60% depending on module and company size; Modul 4 = energy/resource optimization of plants & processes (insulation fits). Foerderwettbewerb round budget ~EUR 60M. official source · verified 2026

Obligation. Mandatory energy audit if avg final energy 2.77-23.6 GWh/yr; certified EnMS/EMS if >23.6 GWh/yr; implementation plans for economically viable measures within 3 months of audit. (applies as a rule above the stated threshold — we do not hold this site's metered energy use). official source · verified 2026
Status: Thresholds are an April-2026 DRAFT amendment (previously 7.5 GWh EnMS) — confirm enacted before publishing.

Programme terms verified 2026-06-18; confirm the current open phase before applying. Eligibility depends on a site's energy use / headcount, which we do not hold — not a per-facility eligibility determination.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is Total Leuna Refinery?

Total Leuna Refinery is a refinery in Germany. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for Total Leuna Refinery?

The open dataset lists 227,000 BBL per day of capacity for Total Leuna Refinery.

How much CO₂ does Total Leuna Refinery emit?

The page uses about 2,810,434 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #12 among facilities in Germany by estimated CO₂.

Where is Total Leuna Refinery located?

Total Leuna Refinery is in Germany at approximately 51.28805, 11.99325.

Who operates Total Leuna Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is TotalEnergies SE.

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