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Semi-finished product · Electronic components

NMC cathode powder

One kilogram of NMC532 cathode active material

This page shows what the product is made of and where each figure comes from. It does not show a death toll. The toll is calculated from this list of materials, and will be published only once it has a range and the model has passed its test on past years.

Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 (NMC532), made by calcining a co-precipitated precursor with lithium carbonate. Argonne's report names NMC532 as a chemistry holding a significant share of the current battery market, and it is the one chemistry whose whole chain — cathode, precursor, metal salts — this source publishes, so it is modelled end to end from that one document. Cathode powder is where a battery's cobalt, nickel and lithium enter.

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The human cost, per item

One item is one kilogram of NMC532 cathode active material. Scenario Resource-only, using FIGARO 2023. Each figure is the middle result of 2,000 runs of the calculation, with the range that holds nine in ten of them beside it, and the grade that range earns.

Deaths

4.4 × 10⁻⁹ per item(2.4–9.6 × 10⁻⁹)LOWS-RES · run 2165 · methodology v0.1 · data dv-20261007-44r

Deaths per item: the rangeThe range that holds nine in ten of the runs, on a scale where each step is ten times the last: 2.4–9.6 × 10⁻⁹. The dot is the middle result; a figure graded indicative has none.10⁻¹⁰10⁻⁹10⁻⁸10⁻⁷

The product’s list of materials traces 68% of its weight to raw materials the model knows. The rest carries no harm in this method, which is why this method gives a floor.

Injuries

4.1 × 10⁻⁷ per item(2.2–8.0 × 10⁻⁷)LOWS-RES · run 2165 · methodology v0.1 · data dv-20261007-44r

Injuries per item: the rangeThe range that holds nine in ten of the runs, on a scale where each step is ten times the last: 2.2–8.0 × 10⁻⁷. The dot is the middle result; a figure graded indicative has none.10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶10⁻⁵

The product’s list of materials traces 68% of its weight to raw materials the model knows. The rest carries no harm in this method, which is why this method gives a floor.

Deaths and injuries at work in these figures come from the 53 countries that reported work deaths and the 52 that reported work injuries for 2023.

Harm at work is counted as each country reports it to the UN’s labour statistics (ILOSTAT), and never estimated for a country that did not report: such a country is missing from that year, not counted as zero. So when two years’ figures differ, part of the difference can be a change in which countries reported. The model’s own year-to-year checks compare only countries that reported in both years.

Deaths: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Rep., Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United States, Uzbekistan

Injuries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United States, Uzbekistan

The money method — per €1,000 spent

Two methods, never added together. The materials method counts only what the product’s list of materials reaches, so it is a floor. The money method counts the whole supply chain of the industry for each euro spent, so in principle it misses nothing — but it cannot see what this particular product is made of.

In human terms

One death for every 100 million – 420 million items.

By the money method, about €500 million – €1.2 billion of spending in its industry for each death.

Rounded so that it stays within the range, so the sentence never claims more than the range does.

Under each scenario

Five answers to how much of the harm counted in a place is linked to its economy. Same product, same year, same trade table: only the rule for linking harm to the economy changes.

Deaths per item under each scenarioEach line is one scenario’s range, on a scale where each step is ten times the last; the dot is its middle result.10⁻⁹10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶S-MAXEconomic-embeddedS-EVIDEvidence-weightedS-RESResource-onlyS-ARMSArms and resourcesS-CONSConservative

Where it comes from

By raw material — the materials method

By raw material — the materials methodEach bar is one contributor’s share of the deaths in this figure; the rest is grouped last.Cobalt — 71%Cobalt71%Nickel — 16%Nickel16%Lithium — 13%Lithium13%Manganese — 0.75%Manganese0.75%

By industry — the money method

By industry — the money methodEach bar is one contributor’s share of the deaths in this figure; the rest is grouped last.Mining and quarrying — 92%Mining and quarrying92%Manufacture of basic metals — 3.8%Manufacture of basic metals3.8%Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities — 3.4%Crop and animal production, h…3.4%Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply — 0.25%Electricity, gas, steam and a…0.25%Water collection, treatment and supply — 0.22%Water collection, treatment a…0.22%Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products — 0.22%Manufacture of coke and refin…0.22%Forestry and logging — <0.1%Forestry and logging<0.1%Real estate activities — <0.1%Real estate activities<0.1%Everything else — <0.1%Everything else<0.1%

Where the harm was counted

Where the harm was countedEach dot is a country, placed at its capital, sized by its share of the deaths in this figure.Congo, Dem. Rep. 69%Colombia 13%Portugal 7.3%Australia — 3.2%Canada — 2.4%Russian Federation — 1.6%Argentina — 1.4%Turkiye — 1.4%Mexico — 0.48%United States — 0.28%Georgia — 0.26%
Each circle is a country, at its capital, sized by its share of the deaths in this figure. The largest are named; point at or tap any other circle to see its name.
Every material, in full
By raw material — the materials method
MaterialShareDeaths per item
Cobalt 71%3.1 × 10⁻⁹
Nickel 16%6.9 × 10⁻¹⁰
Lithium 13%5.6 × 10⁻¹⁰
Manganese 0.75%3.3 × 10⁻¹¹

The chain, step by step

The largest step at each stage of the model. Each links to the full account, where every stage adds up to the headline figure.

  1. NMC cathode powder
  2. Cobalt 71% of the figure
  3. Congo, Dem. Rep. 69% of the figure
  4. Conflict and political violence 77% of the figure
  5. DR Congo (Zaire): Government 52% of the figure

The full breakdown →

Sources behind this figure

Every data file that went into this figure in this calculation, with the credit its licence asks for.

What this figure is not

Production phase only. Harm from using the product — driving the car, charging the phone — is not in this figure.

How to read these numbers →

Beside the most similar products

The two products whose deaths per kilogram are closest to this one’s, by the materials method.

Cite this figure

HumanToll 2026, run 2165, methodology v0.1. https://quiescence.eu/humantoll/product/nmc-cathode/

What it is made of

Each line is one part of one kilogram of NMC532 cathode active material: how much of it goes in, how much had to be produced to get that much (some is wasted along the way), and where the figure comes from.

What it is made of
Component Quantity Source
Nickel
ingredient 		311 g Winjobi, Dai and Kelly (2020), Update of Bill-of-Materials and Cathode Chemistry addition… · high
Table 5 gives 0.945 t of precursor and 0.381 t of Li2CO3 per tonne of NMC532; Table 7 gives the precursor's metal sulphates. The contained metal follows from the molar masses: 0.945 x 0.868 t NiSO4 x 0.3793 Ni = 311.11 g of contained nickel per kilogram
Cobalt
ingredient 		126 g Winjobi, Dai and Kelly (2020), Update of Bill-of-Materials and Cathode Chemistry addition… · high
Table 5 gives 0.945 t of precursor and 0.381 t of Li2CO3 per tonne of NMC532; Table 7 gives the precursor's metal sulphates. The contained metal follows from the molar masses: 0.945 x 0.350 t CoSO4 x 0.3802 Co = 125.76 g of contained cobalt per kilogram
Lithium
ingredient 		71.6 g Winjobi, Dai and Kelly (2020), Update of Bill-of-Materials and Cathode Chemistry addition… · high
Table 5 gives 0.945 t of precursor and 0.381 t of Li2CO3 per tonne of NMC532; Table 7 gives the precursor's metal sulphates. The contained metal follows from the molar masses: 0.381 t Li2CO3 x 0.1879 Li = 71.58 g of contained lithium per kilogram
Manganese
ingredient 		170 g Winjobi, Dai and Kelly (2020), Update of Bill-of-Materials and Cathode Chemistry addition… · high
Table 5 gives 0.945 t of precursor and 0.381 t of Li2CO3 per tonne of NMC532; Table 7 gives the precursor's metal sulphates. The contained metal follows from the molar masses: 0.945 x 0.494 t MnSO4 x 0.3638 Mn = 169.85 g of contained manganese per kilogram. Manganese is not in HumanToll's materials register, so this mass reaches no supply chain Registered as the material `manganese` on 2026-09-18 from USGS mine production.
Oxygen, chemically bound
ingredient 		322 g Winjobi, Dai and Kelly (2020), Update of Bill-of-Materials and Cathode Chemistry addition… · medium
the balance of the kilogram after the four metals. LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 is 33.2% oxygen by molar mass and this chain leaves 32.2%, which is how closely the source's tonnages and the formula agree
Electricity, calcination
energy 		6.35 kWh Winjobi, Dai and Kelly (2020), Update of Bill-of-Materials and Cathode Chemistry addition… · high
Table 5: 21.670 mmBtu per tonne of product, which is 22.9 MJ per kilogram; the report's text rounds it to 7 kWh/kg
Natural gas, precursor co-precipitation
energy 		10.7 kWh Winjobi, Dai and Kelly (2020), Update of Bill-of-Materials and Cathode Chemistry addition… · high
Table 7: 38.618 mmBtu per tonne of precursor, at 0.945 t of precursor per tonne of cathode

Down to raw materials

The whole chain worked out — everything one kilogram of NMC532 cathode active material needs, through every product in between, with all the waste along the way included.

Down to raw materials
Input Per item
Cobalt 126 g
Lithium 71.6 g
Manganese 170 g
Nickel 311 g
Electricity, calcination (not in the register) 6.35 kWh
Natural gas, precursor co-precipitation (not in the register) 10.7 kWh
Oxygen, chemically bound (not in the register) 322 g

An input marked “not in the register” is counted by weight but is not yet linked to any supply chain. Services such as transport appear as the euros, or tonnes carried a kilometre, that the list of materials gives them.

How much of it is known in detail

100% of this product’s weight is listed in detail in its own list of materials.

Its whole chain uses 1.00 kg of materials, waste included. 68% of that is raw materials the model knows — the part it can trace harm to — 32% is inputs not yet on the list, and 0% is an openly stated remainder.

In the table of what industries buy from each other it belongs to “Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products” (FIGARO industry C20).

In the table of what industries buy from each other it belongs to “Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products” (FIGARO industry C20).

What uses it

Products whose own list of materials includes this one.

Sources

Products →

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