The growing demand for high-energy cathode materials in Li-ion batteries has brought NMC (LixNiyMnzCo1−y−zO2) compounds to the forefront of research and development, aiming to fulfill the requirements of modern applications. Increasing the nickel content in the NMC structure offers a promising route to further enhance the energy performance of NMCs. However, this adjustment also induces a higher susceptibility to surface degradation upon exposure to water, including ambient atmospheric humidity. When in contact with water, NMC materials are prone to lithium loss from their surface structure, which leads to the formation of salts such as Li2CO3 and LiOH. These salts do not contribute to the energy conversion mechanism and instead increase internal resistance and promote side reactions within the cell. To address this issue, we propose to apply a protective coating to the NMC surface, to maintain structural integrity and mitigate performance decline. A Cu-doped carbon-based protective coating was applied on NMC532. For the coating process, a combination of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) was chosen for their minimal waste production, high deposition rate and industrial scalability. The coating process was optimized to achieve short coating processing times, high conductivity, and compatibility with water-based slurry preparation. To assess the impact of the coating NMC degradation in humid environment, both coated and uncoated NMC532 powders were exposed to humid air (70 % relative humidity at 20°C) for 15 days. Following aging, the powders were processed into electrodes using a water-based formulation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the formation of lithium salts following the aging experiments. Analysis of the C1s XPS spectrum revealed that the Li2CO3 content on the NMC532 surface increased from 13.28 at.% in the pristine powder to 20.63 at.% after aging on humid atmosphere for 15 days. This observation is further supported by the Li1s spectrum, where the ratio of LiOH and Li2CO3 to Li2O increased from 0.4 in the pristine powder to 1.35 in the aged, uncoated NMC532. These findings indicate a significant increase in lithium salt content on the NMC532 surface after exposure to a humid environment. Additionally, the electrochemical performance of both aged uncoated and coated NMC532 was evaluated to assess the protective effectiveness of the coating. The unaged NMC532 powder delivered a discharge capacity of 164.7 mAh/g at C/10, whereas the 15-day aged, uncoated powder reached only 141.6 mAh/g at the same C-rate. In contrast, the Cu-doped carbon-coated NMC532 retained a discharge capacity of 156.5 mAh/g at C/10. This result shows that the coating provided effective partial protection against moisture-induced degradation. While preliminary, these findings indicate a promising approach to mitigate the high reactivity of NMC powders with water. The applied coating demonstrates scalability for industrial applications, which enhances the practical relevance of this work.