Carbonate precursors for lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode material and the method of making same

A method for producing a M-carbonate precursor of a Li-M oxide cathode material in a continuous process in a reactor, wherein M=NixMnyCozAn, A being a dopant, with x>0, y>0, 0≤z≤0.35, 0≤n≤0.02 and x+y+z+n=1, the method comprising:

• introducing to the reactor a feed solution comprising Ni-, Mn-, Co- and A-ions, wherein the feed solution contains a total amount of Ni-, Mn-, Co- and A-ions £M″feed),
• introducing to the reactor an ionic solution comprising either one or both of a carbonate and a bicarbonate solution, the ionic solution further comprising either one or both of Na- and K-ions,
• pumping a slurry comprising seeds into the reactor, the seeds comprising M′-ions, wherein the slurry contains a total amount of M′ ions (M′seeds), wherein M′=Nix′Mny′Coz′A′n′, A′ being a dopant, with 0≤x′≤1, 0≤y′≤1, 0≤z′≤1, 0≤n′≤1 and x′+y′+z′+n′=1, and wherein the molar ratio M′seeds/M″feed is between 0.001 and 0.04,
• mixing the feed solution, the ionic solution and the slurry in the reactor, thereby obtaining a reactive liquid mixture,
• precipitating a carbonate onto the seeds in the reactive liquid mixture, thereby obtaining a reacted liquid mixture and the M-carbonate precursor, and
• separating the M-carbonate precursor from the reacted liquid mixture.