Aughinish Alumina Refinery

Aughinish Alumina Refinery is an aluminium smelter in Ireland with a reported capacity of 2,000,000 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. It is operated by United Company RUSAL PJSC. By capacity it ranks #1 of 2 aluminium smelters tracked in Ireland. It emits about 2,325,266 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 542,020 cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is about 44% below the median aluminium smelter.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-43764957.

В контексте: как это предприятие сравнивается

На мощности 2,000,000 t of alumina/aluminum Aughinish Alumina Refinery — это примерно медианная aluminium smelter в Ireland (2,000,000 t of alumina/aluminum). Его выброс CO₂ на единицу мощности примерно на 18% ниже медианной aluminium smelter. Подсектор: aluminum. Как aluminium smelter, оно требует высокотемпературного технологического тепла (обычно 600–900°C) для основных промышленных операций — тепла, которое должно подаваться котлами, печами или прямым сжиганием, и потери через неизолированные сосуды и трубопроводы представляют потраченное впустую топливо. Съёмная модульная теплоизоляция может снизить эти потери на 80–96%, охладив поверхность оборудования до ≤45°C, с окупаемостью часто менее 2 лет. Алюминиевые плавильни используют большие электрические токи для рафинирования глинозёма в расплавленный алюминий выше 900°C, и расплавленный металл должен течь через тигли и литейное оборудование.

Сравнение производительности и интенсивности CO₂ рассчитано на основе данных промышленных объектов Climate TRACE; роль сектора основана на инженерных справочниках.

What 2,325,266 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 Ireland

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

Operator

Operated by United Company RUSAL PJSC. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Aughinish Alumina Refinery sits in a temperate oceanic climate zone (Köppen Cfb), at 52.6°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 #1 largest of 2 aluminium smelters in Ireland by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland Limited · Food & Beverage · 64,192 t CO₂
• Adare-Rathkeale Municipal District · Aluminium Smelter · 138,729 t CO₂
• Limerick Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 237,549 t CO₂
• Kerry Ingredients (Ireland) Limited (Listowel) · Food & Beverage · 64,192 t CO₂
• Kerry Ingredients (Ireland) Limited (Charleville) · Food & Beverage · 64,192 t CO₂
• Tipperary Co-Operative Creamery Limited · Food & Beverage · 64,192 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 52.61855, -9.07764. 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 3,400 MWh/yr (≈ 690 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.

EU: funding & obligation

Obligation. Under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (Art. 8), large undertakings (>250 staff or >€50M turnover / >€43M balance) must run an energy audit every 4 years or operate a certified energy management system (ISO 50001).

Funding. National energy-efficiency grants and white-certificate schemes typically apply — check the local programme.

EED Article 8, transposed nationally. Confirm current national terms.

Frequently asked questions