Umicore uses manganese across two core business areas – Cobalt & Specialty Materials (CSM) and Battery Materials Solutions (BMS), reflecting both its broad industrial applications and its essential role in clean mobility.
The CSM unit supplies products such as manganese acetate, manganese carbonate and manganese carboxylates to a wide range of sectors, including chemical catalysts, coatings, inks, and agriculture.
Manganese plays a more strategic role in the BMS business line, where it is a core component of advanced cathode technologies. It is central to nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery materials, contributing to safety and structural stability, and cost-effectiveness. It is also increasingly important in lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) chemistries, designed to lower EV battery costs and reduce reliance on nickel and cobalt, while preserving electrochemical performance (energy storage and power).Â
This shift is driven by the need to make electric vehicles more affordable while maintaining performance. Importantly, these manganese-rich chemistries can be produced in the same Umicore factories as existing NMC materials, allowing Umicore to scale efficiently.