Baie Comeau aluminium plant

Baie Comeau aluminium plant is an aluminium smelter in Canada with a reported capacity of 314,000 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. It is operated by Alcoa Aluminerie de Baie-Comeau . By capacity it ranks #6 of 11 aluminium smelters tracked in Canada. It emits about 667,293 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 155,546 cars.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3672962.

Em contexto: como esta instalação se compara

Com 314,000 t of alumina/aluminum, Baie Comeau aluminium plant é em torno de a mediana de aluminium smelter em Canada (314,000 t of alumina/aluminum). Subsetor: aluminum. Como aluminium smelter, requer calor de processo intenso (tipicamente 600–900°C) para suas operações industriais centrais — calor que deve ser fornecido por caldeiras, fornos ou combustão direta, e as perdas através de vasos e tubulações não isolados representam combustível desperdiçado. O isolamento modular removível pode reduzir essas perdas em 80–96%, esfriando superfícies a ≤45°C, com payback geralmente inferior a 2 anos. As fundições de alumínio usam grandes correntes elétricas para refinar alumina em alumínio fundido acima de 900°C, e o metal quente deve fluir através de cadinhos e equipamentos de fundição.

Comparação de capacidade e intensidade de CO₂ calculada a partir dos dados de instalações industriais Climate TRACE; função do setor baseada em referência de engenharia.

What 667,293 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's reported annual CO₂e in the 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 Canada

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

Operator

Operated by Alcoa Aluminerie de Baie-Comeau .

Local climate

Baie Comeau aluminium plant sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfb), at 49.3°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

How it compares & nearby sites

The #6 largest of 11 aluminium smelters in Canada by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Sappi Matane Pulp Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill · 88,433 t CO₂
• Cap Chat Smelter & High Purity Alumina · Aluminium Smelter · 458 t CO₂
• AV Cell Inc. - Specialty Cellulose Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill · 33,722 t CO₂
• Cabano Fiber Pulp & Containerboard Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill · 88,433 t CO₂
• Mohawk Pulp Pulp Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill · 88,433 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 49.25563, -68.14757. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

A aluminium smelter like this runs hot equipment that sheds heat continuously: alumina calciner, casthouse furnaces, hot ducting (electrolysis itself is electric) (surface/process temperatures around 150–1,000 °C). These surfaces lose energy to the air year-round; removable modular insulation cuts that loss, brings outer surfaces to ≤45 °C, and unclips for inspection.

electrolysis is mostly electricity (Scope 2) + anode process; on-site combustion small - insulation mainly relevant to alumina refining/casthouse.

Indicative recoverable energy

On an already-insulated site (pipes & valves in cladding / jackets), closing the remaining gaps, flanges and damaged sections and switching to removable covers indicatively recovers about 2,200 MWh/yr (≈ 440 t CO₂/yr) — scaled to this site's reported CO₂ within its sector. Bare or damaged surfaces recover several times more.

See Inzonex insulation → Estimate your site →

Indicative, not a measurement. Conservative floor for an already-insulated plant; a TIPCHECK on-site audit gives a measured figure. Industry context: EiiF TIPCHECK — industrial insulation can save ~14 Mtoe/yr in EU, payback typically <2 years.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Bare hot surfaces here exceed the touch-safe limit (EN ISO 13732-1); insulation to ≤45 °C is a worker-safety and compliance win. And before electrification, fuel-switching or CCS, eliminating surface heat loss is the cheapest, fastest, lowest-risk step — audit the bare spots first, rip-and-replace later.

External climate finance your country can access

Domestic energy-efficiency grants are limited here; industrial decarbonisation is mainly funded externally:

• Japan JCM (Joint Crediting Mechanism) — Japan co-finances diffusion of decarbonising tech incl. INDUSTRIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY in partner countries, in exchange for carbon credits. Channels: MOEJ model projects, ADB trust funds, NEDO demonstrations.
• UK International Climate Finance (ICF / ODA) — ~GBP 6bn ODA over 3 yrs; industrial-decarbonisation flows via Climate Investment Funds (CIF) - Clean Technology Fund.
• Green Climate Fund (GCF) + ADB / World Bank / UNIDO — Concessional finance & grants for industrial energy efficiency. E.g. GCF $200M ADB-led India Green Finance Facility; World Bank FP071 'Scaling Up Energy Efficiency for Industrial Enterprises in Vietnam'; ASEAN ACGF energy-efficiency revolving funds incl. SMEs.

Routed via national development banks / accredited entities — not a direct factory grant. Verified 2026.

Frequently asked questions