UK-based FluoRok has raised $30 million (£22.8 million) in an oversubscribed Series A round to scale its hydrogen fluoride-free manufacturing process for industrial fluorochemicals. The round was led by Orano Venture Fund, managed by Supernova Invest, with participation from Bidra Innovation Ventures. Existing investors Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, GGF, Volta Energy Technologies and the University of Oxford also participated, alongside EverQuest Capital Partners, CPI Enterprises, WS Investment and several angel investors.
The financing follows $14 million (£11 million) raised in previous private rounds and more than $13 million (£10 million) in UK and European public funding secured to date. The announcement also includes approximately $1.3 million (£1 million) in grant funding from Innovate UK through its Investor Partnerships programme.
Founded by Dr Gabriele Pupo, FluoRok is a University of Oxford spinout developing an alternative to conventional fluorochemical manufacturing. Its technology replaces processes that rely on highly hazardous hydrogen fluoride (HF), with initial applications in pharmaceutical ingredients, agrochemicals and lithium-ion battery materials.
Replacing Hydrogen Fluoride in Chemical Manufacturing
Fluorine-containing compounds are used in approximately one in five medicines and one in three agrochemicals on the market, according to FluoRok. They are also important components of lithium-ion batteries, where lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆) is widely used as an electrolyte salt.
Producing these chemicals has traditionally depended on hydrogen fluoride and high-purity fluorspar, a mineral whose supply is concentrated in a small number of countries, particularly China. HF is highly toxic and difficult to handle, requiring specialised production facilities and extensive safety measures. These requirements increase the cost of establishing new manufacturing capacity and restrict where production can take place.
FluoRok has developed a process that uses mechanical activation instead of HF-based chemistry and high temperatures. It can operate on commercially available industrial equipment and use lower-grade mined fluoride or fluoride recovered from industrial waste. According to the company, this could reduce manufacturing costs and allow production facilities to be established closer to customers, with less dependence on high-purity fluorspar supplies.
The technology is being developed as a manufacturing platform for multiple fluorochemical products. FluoRok is initially focusing on inorganic fluorides used in pharmaceutical and agricultural applications, together with LiPF₆ for lithium-ion batteries. The company has completed pilot qualifications and is now preparing to demonstrate the process at industrial scale.
Series A to Finance Industrial Demonstrator Facilities
FluoRok will use the new funding to build demonstrator facilities for its fluorochemical reagents and battery electrolyte salts. These facilities will be used to establish repeatable production at larger volumes and validate the resulting products with customers. The company also plans to expand its team and develop commercial partnerships to support deployment in international markets.
“We are thrilled to welcome new investors on our journey to fundamentally change how the world makes fluorochemicals, with safer chemistry and better economics,” said Dr Gabriele Pupo, CEO and Founder of FluoRok. “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.”
Florian de Beauchaine, Investment Manager at Orano Venture Fund/Supernova Invest, pointed to FluoRok’s pilot-scale results and the industrial challenges associated with hydrogen fluoride. Orano Venture Fund invests in European deeptech companies through Supernova Invest, with a focus on industrial technologies, safety and sustainable chemistry.
Bidra Innovation Ventures, the corporate venture capital firm backed by Morocco’s OCP Group and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, also participated in the round. Its investment interests include agriculture, industrial technologies and mining, sectors where FluoRok’s manufacturing process could have applications.
The next stage for FluoRok is to establish consistent production at industrial scale. Its planned demonstrator facilities will test whether the HF-free process can meet the manufacturing requirements of customers in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and battery industries.
