HS→NAICS Concordance: Many-to-One Correspondence and Granularity Loss

How aggregation to NAICS level conflates distinct clean-tech value chains

Author

Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab · Johns Hopkins SAIS

Published

April 14, 2026

1 Overview

The NZIPL Green Dictionary maps 372 HS6 product codes across 10 clean technologies to four value-chain stages. Using the official US Census Bureau Schedule B → NAICS concordance (2024), 349 of those HS6 codes resolve to 107 unique NAICS 6-digit industry codes — a 3.3× compression.

Important

The granularity problem: When multiple clean-tech HS6 codes map to the same NAICS code, any firm-level query on that industry (via S&P Capital IQ Pro, ORBIS, Compustat, etc.) cannot distinguish a solar-panel manufacturer from a wind-turbine manufacturer, or a battery-grade lithium miner from a copper miner. The clean-tech signal collapses into a broad industrial bucket.

Level Codes Note
Green Dict HS6 372.0 Product-level granularity
HS6 matched to NAICS 349.0 94% coverage (Census Schedule B)
NAICS 6-digit codes 107.0 Industry-level granularity
Compression ratio 3.3 HS6 per NAICS on average

2 Distribution of HS6 codes per NAICS code

tier NAICS codes HS6 codes affected Cross-tech NAICS (2+ techs)
1 — Unique 41 41 7
2 — Low (2–3) 40 95 28
3 — Medium (4–8) 20 107 18
4 — High (9+) 7 114 7

Of the 108 NAICS codes that cover green dictionary products:

  • 41 are unique — clean, one-to-one HS6→NAICS; firm queries are precise.
  • 7 are high-severity (9+ HS6 each) — these aggregate dozens of distinct clean-tech products, spanning multiple technologies, into a single industry bucket.

3 Cross-technology aggregation

The most analytically damaging cases are NAICS codes shared by products from multiple clean technologies. A single NAICS query returns manufacturers of solar cells, wind bearings, and battery chemicals indiscriminately.

NAICS Industry HS6 Techs Technologies Stages
212290 Other Metal Ore Mining 12 10 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Transmission; Wind Upstream
212230 Copper Ore Mining 4 10 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Transmission; Wind Upstream
325180 Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Mfg 37 8 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Transmission; Wind Downstream; Midstream; Upstream
333517 Die-Cutting Machinery Mfg 15 8 Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Magnets; Solar; Transmission; Wind Downstream; Midstream
333998 All Other General Purpose Machinery Mfg 4 8 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Wind Downstream; Midstream
333248 All Other Industrial Machinery Mfg 10 7 Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Wind Downstream; Final Product; Midstream
331313 Alumina Refining & Primary Aluminum Prod 3 7 Batteries; Biofuel; Heat Pumps; Magnets; Solar; Transmission; Wind Downstream; Midstream
331110 Iron & Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Mfg 16 6 Batteries; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Transmission; Wind Downstream; Final Product; Midstream; Upstream
331410 Nonferrous Metal Smelting & Refining 12 6 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps; Solar; Wind Midstream; Upstream
333912 Vacuum Pump & Compressor Mfg 5 6 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Wind Downstream; Midstream
325211 Plastics Material and Resin Mfg 12 5 Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Solar; Wind Downstream; Midstream
332410 Power Boiler & Heat Exchanger Mfg 8 5 Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Nuclear Downstream; Final Product; Midstream
333310 Commercial & Industrial Machinery Repair 6 5 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Wind Downstream; Midstream
333994 Industrial Process Furnace & Oven Mfg 4 5 Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Transmission Downstream; Midstream
333241 Food Product Machinery Mfg 2 5 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Nuclear; Transmission Downstream; Midstream
335220 Household Appliance Mfg 1 5 Batteries; Magnets; Solar; Transmission; Wind Downstream; Midstream
333519 Other Metalworking Machinery Mfg 5 4 Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Transmission Downstream; Midstream
333992 Welding & Soldering Equipment Mfg 4 4 Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Solar; Wind Downstream; Midstream
212210 Iron Ore Mining 2 4 Batteries; Geothermal; Nuclear; Transmission Upstream
325199 All Other Basic Organic Chemical Mfg 6 3 Batteries; Biofuel; Wind Final Product; Midstream
333415 A/C & Refrigeration Equipment Mfg 6 3 Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps Downstream; Final Product; Midstream
333611 NAICS 333611 5 3 Geothermal; Nuclear; Wind Downstream; Final Product
325212 NAICS 325212 4 3 Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal Midstream
335999 NAICS 335999 4 3 Electrolyzers; Magnets; Wind Downstream; Midstream
212390 NAICS 212390 3 3 Batteries; Geothermal; Heat Pumps Midstream; Upstream
325110 NAICS 325110 3 3 Batteries; Biofuel; Geothermal Midstream; Upstream
325998 NAICS 325998 3 3 Biofuel; Geothermal; Solar Midstream
327910 NAICS 327910 3 3 Geothermal; Magnets; Wind Downstream; Midstream
331318 NAICS 331318 3 3 Heat Pumps; Transmission; Wind Midstream
331420 NAICS 331420 3 3 Heat Pumps; Transmission; Wind Midstream
332999 NAICS 332999 3 3 Batteries; Magnets; Wind Downstream; Final Product; Midstream
333120 NAICS 333120 3 3 Geothermal; Transmission; Wind Downstream; Final Product
212323 NAICS 212323 2 3 Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Solar Upstream
327992 NAICS 327992 2 3 Batteries; Geothermal; Nuclear Upstream
327999 NAICS 327999 2 3 Batteries; Nuclear; Wind Midstream
333514 NAICS 333514 2 3 Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps; Magnets Downstream; Midstream
333914 NAICS 333914 2 3 Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps Downstream
333413 NAICS 333413 1 3 Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal Downstream
332991 Ball and Roller Bearing Mfg 8 2 Geothermal; Wind Midstream
332991 Ball and Roller Bearing Mfg 8 2 Geothermal; Wind Midstream
335312 Motor and Generator Mfg 8 2 Solar; Wind Downstream
334515 Electricity Measurement Instrument Mfg 6 2 Batteries; Wind Downstream; Midstream
326113 NAICS 326113 4 2 Batteries; Solar Midstream
325120 NAICS 325120 3 2 Biofuel; Solar Upstream
332996 NAICS 332996 3 2 Geothermal; Wind Midstream
333515 NAICS 333515 3 2 Geothermal; Wind Downstream; Midstream
325520 NAICS 325520 2 2 Solar; Wind Midstream
331210 NAICS 331210 2 2 Geothermal; Wind Final Product; Midstream
331491 NAICS 331491 2 2 Batteries; Solar Midstream
331492 NAICS 331492 2 2 Biofuel; Electrolyzers Midstream
332312 NAICS 332312 2 2 Solar; Wind Downstream
333993 NAICS 333993 2 2 Batteries; Transmission Downstream
334416 NAICS 334416 2 2 Transmission; Wind Final Product; Midstream
335991 NAICS 335991 2 2 Batteries; Wind Midstream
336310 NAICS 336310 2 2 Geothermal; Wind Midstream
325130 NAICS 325130 1 2 Biofuel; Electrolyzers Midstream
325510 NAICS 325510 1 2 Solar; Wind Midstream
333243 NAICS 333243 1 2 Biofuel; Electrolyzers Downstream
339991 NAICS 339991 1 2 Geothermal; Wind Midstream
339999 NAICS 339999 1 2 Magnets; Wind Downstream; Final Product

4 The five worst cases

NAICS Industry HS6 codes Techs What gets merged
325180 Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Mfg 37 8 Battery electrolytes, biofuel catalysts, electrolyzer membrane chemicals, geothermal working fluids, rare-earth processing chemicals, nuclear uranium conversion — 8 techs, all calling the same 'inorganic chemical manufacturer'.
331110 Iron & Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Mfg 16 6 Iron and steel for structural components across Geothermal rigs, Magnet cores, Nuclear reactor vessels, Transmission towers, and Wind turbine towers — 6 techs.
333517 Die-Cutting Machinery Mfg 15 8 Die-casting and metal-forming machinery used across Batteries, Electrolyzers, Geothermal, Heat Pumps, Magnets, Solar, Transmission, Wind — 8 techs of process equipment indistinguishable at NAICS level.
212290 Other Metal Ore Mining 12 10 All 10 techs share 'Other Metal Ore Mining': lithium, cobalt, manganese (Batteries); rare earths (Magnets); uranium (Nuclear); copper (Transmission/Wind); bauxite (Solar); and more. A single NAICS query cannot separate any of these.
325211 Plastics Material and Resin Mfg 12 5 Plastics/resins: battery separators, electrolyzer membranes, geothermal insulation, solar encapsulants, wind nacelle composites — 5 techs.
331410 Nonferrous Metal Smelting & Refining 12 6 Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps; Solar; Wind
333248 All Other Industrial Machinery Mfg 10 7 Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Wind

5 Severity matrix


6 Stage collapse

Beyond cross-tech contamination, some NAICS codes aggregate products from different value-chain stages — meaning firms in that NAICS code might be suppliers of raw materials, midstream processors, or final-product manufacturers, and there is no way to distinguish them using NAICS alone.

NAICS Industry HS6 Stages Stages merged Technologies
331110 Iron & Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Mfg 16 4 Downstream + Final Product + Midstream + Upstream Batteries; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Transmission; Wind
325180 Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Mfg 37 3 Downstream + Midstream + Upstream Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Transmission; Wind
333248 All Other Industrial Machinery Mfg 10 3 Downstream + Final Product + Midstream Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Wind
332410 Power Boiler & Heat Exchanger Mfg 8 3 Downstream + Final Product + Midstream Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Nuclear
333415 A/C & Refrigeration Equipment Mfg 6 3 Downstream + Final Product + Midstream Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps
334413 334413 4 3 Downstream + Final Product + Midstream Solar
332999 332999 3 3 Downstream + Final Product + Midstream Batteries; Magnets; Wind
335910 335910 3 3 Downstream + Final Product + Midstream Batteries
333517 Die-Cutting Machinery Mfg 15 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Magnets; Solar; Transmission; Wind
325211 Plastics Material and Resin Mfg 12 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Solar; Wind
331410 Nonferrous Metal Smelting & Refining 12 2 Midstream + Upstream Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps; Solar; Wind
325199 All Other Basic Organic Chemical Mfg 6 2 Final Product + Midstream Batteries; Biofuel; Wind
333310 Commercial & Industrial Machinery Repair 6 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Wind
334515 Electricity Measurement Instrument Mfg 6 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Wind
333519 Other Metalworking Machinery Mfg 5 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Transmission
333611 333611 5 2 Downstream + Final Product Geothermal; Nuclear; Wind
333912 Vacuum Pump & Compressor Mfg 5 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Wind
333992 Welding & Soldering Equipment Mfg 4 2 Downstream + Midstream Geothermal; Heat Pumps; Solar; Wind
333994 Industrial Process Furnace & Oven Mfg 4 2 Downstream + Midstream Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Transmission
333998 All Other General Purpose Machinery Mfg 4 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Geothermal; Magnets; Nuclear; Solar; Wind
335999 335999 4 2 Downstream + Midstream Electrolyzers; Magnets; Wind
212390 212390 3 2 Midstream + Upstream Batteries; Geothermal; Heat Pumps
325110 325110 3 2 Midstream + Upstream Batteries; Biofuel; Geothermal
327910 327910 3 2 Downstream + Midstream Geothermal; Magnets; Wind
331313 Alumina Refining & Primary Aluminum Prod 3 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Biofuel; Heat Pumps; Magnets; Solar; Transmission; Wind
333120 333120 3 2 Downstream + Final Product Geothermal; Transmission; Wind
333242 333242 3 2 Downstream + Midstream Solar
333515 333515 3 2 Downstream + Midstream Geothermal; Wind
335311 335311 3 2 Downstream + Final Product Transmission
327211 327211 2 2 Downstream + Midstream Solar
331210 331210 2 2 Final Product + Midstream Geothermal; Wind
333131 333131 2 2 Downstream + Final Product Geothermal
333241 Food Product Machinery Mfg 2 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Biofuel; Electrolyzers; Nuclear; Transmission
333514 333514 2 2 Downstream + Midstream Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps; Magnets
334416 334416 2 2 Final Product + Midstream Transmission; Wind
327215 327215 1 2 Downstream + Midstream Solar
335220 Household Appliance Mfg 1 2 Downstream + Midstream Batteries; Magnets; Solar; Transmission; Wind
339999 339999 1 2 Downstream + Final Product Magnets; Wind

7 Unmatched HS6 codes: the HS revision gap

Twenty-three green-dictionary HS6 codes have no match in the Census Bureau Schedule B → NAICS concordance (2024 edition). These are not data errors — they fall into three structural categories explained below.

HS6 code Technology Role Stage
382490 Batteries Product Component Midstream
390760 Batteries Processed Material Midstream
902780 Batteries Process Equipment Downstream
151000 Biofuel Raw Material Upstream
151490 Biofuel Raw Material Upstream
293290 Biofuel Processed Material Midstream
440110 Biofuel Raw Material Upstream
440130 Biofuel Raw Material Upstream
681510 Biofuel Processed Material Midstream
840619 Biofuel Process Equipment Downstream
854380 Electrolyzers Process Equipment Downstream
851430 Electrolyzers; Geothermal Process Equipment Downstream
846241 Electrolyzers; Heat Pumps; Transmission Process Equipment Downstream
730420 Geothermal Product Component Downstream
845610 Geothermal Process Equipment Downstream
846021 Geothermal Process Equipment Downstream; Midstream
846210 Geothermal Process Equipment Downstream
740110 Heat Pumps; Transmission; Wind Processed Material Midstream
252890 Nuclear Raw Material Upstream
282611 Nuclear Processed Material Midstream
810990 Nuclear Processed Material Midstream
854140 Solar Product Component Downstream
846221 Wind Process Equipment Midstream
Why these 23 codes are unmatched

Category 1 — HS 2017/2022 revision gap (manual mapping required)

The Census Schedule B concordance is anchored to the HS 2022 revision (current as of 2024). Some green-dictionary codes were defined for earlier HS revisions (HS2017, HS2012) and have since been split, merged, or renumbered. Nuclear and magnet codes are most affected: for example, 810990 (Zirconium and articles thereof — a key nuclear fuel-cycle material) existed through HS17 but was subdivided in HS22, and the old heading does not appear in the Census export file. Similarly, several rare-earth and magnet codes that were valid HS12/HS17 entries are absent from the HS22-based Schedule B.

These codes must be mapped manually by inspecting the WCO HS2017→HS2022 correlation table and assigning the successor NAICS code from the new heading. Until that is done, firms dealing in these specific products will be missed by NAICS-based queries.

Category 2 — Import-only Schedule B positions (not in export concordance)

The Census expconcord24.xlsx is an export concordance (Schedule B commodity codes). A small number of HS6 positions — primarily certain process-equipment headings — appear only in US import classifications (HTS, Harmonised Tariff Schedule) and have no Schedule B export equivalent. These products are imported rather than domestically manufactured at a classifiable Schedule B level, so no NAICS production code is assigned.

Category 3 — Agricultural / biofuel feedstock codes

Several biofuel feedstock codes (e.g., sugarcane, palm oil, oilseeds) are classified under agricultural chapters (HS 10–15) which the Census Schedule B covers only partially for export purposes. The Census concordance prioritises manufactured goods; primary agricultural commodities used as industrial inputs are underrepresented.

Implication for S&P Capital IQ Pro matching

Firm-level queries using NAICS will structurally miss any company whose primary product is one of these 23 HS6 codes until manual mappings are added. The gap is concentrated in Nuclear (specialty metals and reactor materials) and Magnets (rare-earth precursors) — precisely the technologies where precise firm identification matters most for industrial-policy analysis.


8 Implications for firm-level matching

8.1 False positives

A query on NAICS 325180 (Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing) returns the entire inorganic chemicals industry. The vast majority of those firms produce acids, pigments, and industrial gases with no clean-tech relevance. The 37 green-dict HS codes mapped here are a small fraction of what that NAICS industry actually produces.

8.2 Cross-tech contamination

NAICS 212290 (Other Metal Ore Mining) covers all 10 clean technologies. Lithium miners, cobalt miners, rare-earth miners, and uranium miners are all in the same bucket. Any country-level analysis of “other metal ore mining” will conflate these entirely different supply chains.

9 Data sources

Source File Notes
NZIPL Green Dictionary data/green_dict/green_dictionary.csv 372 HS6 codes × 10 techs
US Census Bureau data/spatial/expconcord24.xlsx 2024 Schedule B → NAICS concordance, 9,724 rows
HS6→NAICS crosswalk data/concordance/hs6_naics_crosswalk.csv Built by scripts/build_data/08c_build_naics_crosswalk.R

Rendered: 2026-04-14