FluoRok raises $30m Series A to scale HF-free fluorochemical production

Oxford spinout FluoRok has closed a $30 million Series A that exceeded its original target, money it will spend proving its fluorochemical process at industrial scale.

The round was led by Orano Venture Fund/Supernova Invest, with new investment from Bidra Innovation Ventures. Existing investors Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, GGF, Volta Energy Technologies and the University of Oxford continued their backing.

Additional commitments came from EverQuest Capital Partners, CPI Enterprises, WS Investments and angel backers, plus a £1 million grant from Innovate UK's Investor Partnerships programme. The raise builds on $14 million from previous rounds and more than $13 million in UK and European public funding secured to date.

What does the funding actually change?

Dr Gabriele Pupo, CEO and founder of the Oxford-based company, said: "We are thrilled to welcome new investors on our journey to fundamentally change how the world makes fluorochemicals, with safer chemistry and better economics."

He added: "Closing another oversubscribed round, backed by both new and existing investors from around the world, is a testament to the strength of our technology, the incredible commercial traction and the speed of execution of the FluoRok team. This funding will ensure FluoRok can swiftly move from start-up to scale-up and take a further step towards becoming a large-scale industrial manufacturer."

The money funds four things: building demonstrator facilities for its reagents and lithium-ion battery electrolyte salts to prove repeatable manufacturing; expanding the team for scale-up; validating products with customers at scale; and broadening commercial partnerships for global deployment.

Why does the industry need a new process?

The stakes are broad. FluoRok says approximately one in five medicines and one in three agrochemicals on the market contain fluorine, and fluorochemicals are key components of lithium-ion batteries. Yet the global supply chain still runs on an energy-intensive production route that is 250 years old.

Conventional manufacturing requires high-grade fluorspar (calcium fluoride) reacted with acid at high temperatures to produce hydrogen fluoride (HF) — a highly toxic, corrosive chemical. Handling it demands specialised safety infrastructure, complex regulatory approvals and heavy capital expenditure.

FluoRok's proprietary platform sidesteps HF entirely. It uses mechanical activation rather than acid-driven high-temperature reactions, synthesising fluorochemicals on off-the-shelf industrial equipment. The method processes both lower-grade mined fluorspar and fluoride recovered directly from industrial waste streams.

Where will FluoRok sell first?

The company's initial markets are inorganic fluorides for pharmaceutical and agrochemical applications, and lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), the most common electrolyte salt in lithium-ion batteries. Further fluorochemicals will follow.

FluoRok has already completed pilot qualifications and built what it describes as strong commercial traction with key customers.

Florian de Beauchaine, investment manager at Orano Venture Fund/Supernova Invest, said: "We back companies whose technologies support a sovereign, sustainable industrial transition. FluoRok has already shown its process works at pilot scale, and taking hydrogen fluoride out of fluorochemical production tackles a safety and supply problem the whole industry shares."

Abhiram Kannan, head of investment for industrials and mining at Bidra Innovation Ventures, pointed to the platform's breadth rather than any single product. He said: "What drew us to FluoRok is that its process isn't tied to one product, but it is a platform with the potential to redefine how fluorochemicals are manufactured and become the new benchmark for the industry."

He added that the same chemistry applies to pharmaceutical and agrochemical building blocks, battery materials and inorganic fluorides, "which gives the company several routes to commercial scale and a broad base of potential partners."

With $30 million banked, the test shifts from chemistry to execution: whether FluoRok can convert pilot-scale proof and customer traction into repeatable industrial manufacturing across pharmaceutical, agrochemical and battery supply chains.