Oxford's FluoRok raises €26.64 million to make fluorochemicals without hydrogen fluoride
Oxford-based chemical manufacturing startup FluoRok has closed a €26.64 million Series A round. The company has a patented process for producing fluorochemicals without hazardous hydrogen fluoride.
FluoRok, a chemical manufacturing startup based in Oxford, UK, has closed a Series A funding round worth €26.64 million ($30 million). The company has developed a patented process for making fluorochemicals without hydrogen fluoride (HF), one of the most hazardous chemicals in industrial use. The new capital is meant to carry it from startup to industrial scale.
Who invested
The round was led by Orano Ventures Fund/Supernova Invest, with investor Bidra Innovation Ventures also taking part. Existing backers Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, GGF, Volta Energy Technologies and the University of Oxford joined as well. Several angel investors, smaller partners including EverQuest Capital Partners, CPI Enterprises and WS Investment, and about €1.15 million in grant funding from Innovate UK were also part of the round, which the company says exceeded its original target.
The technology
Founded in 2022 as a University of Oxford spin-out, FluoRok targets a 250-year-old conventional production method that relies on HF and high-purity fluorspar sourced mainly from China, creating safety, supply and cost risks. FluoRok instead combines mechanical activation with base chemistry to release fluorine from lower-grade minerals and even fluoride-containing industrial waste. The process runs on off-the-shelf industrial equipment, which makes scaling easier.
The company is aiming at pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and lithium-ion battery manufacturing. It says its products are being validated by more than ten partners in eight countries across three continents.
What comes next
The Series A adds to €12.43 million raised in earlier rounds and more than €11.54 million in UK and European public funding. The money will pay for demonstrator facilities for reagents and battery electrolyte salts, a larger team and deeper commercial partnerships. FluoRok also plans to scale its platform for battery products such as LiFSI and FEC, and for a waste-to-value stream that turns fluorinated polymer waste into high-value chemical intermediates. More than 25,000 tonnes of such waste is incinerated each year in Europe alone.
Founder and CEO Gabriele Pupo said the funding would help the company move quickly from startup to scale-up.
