Oxford spin-out FluoRok raises $30 million to make fluorochemicals without hydrogen fluoride

Who is backing the round

Orano Ventures Fund and Supernova Invest led the Series A, and Bidra Innovation Ventures took part as a participant. Investors that had already backed the company, including Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF and GGF, also put money in, alongside Volta Energy Technologies and the University of Oxford.

FluoRok says the round finished above its original target. Several angel investors came in, along with smaller partners such as EverQuest Capital Partners, CPI Enterprises and WS Investment. The company also received about €1.15 million ($1.3 million) in grant funding from Innovate UK through its Investor Partnerships programme.

A route that sidesteps hydrogen fluoride

Fluorochemicals have long been produced by a process roughly 250 years old that depends on hydrogen fluoride, which the report describes as one of the most hazardous chemicals in industrial use. That route also draws heavily on high-purity fluorspar, mostly sourced from China, which brings safety, supply and cost risks.

FluoRok says its patented platform avoids that route altogether. It combines mechanical activation with base chemistry to extract fluorine from lower-grade minerals and fluoride-containing industrial waste streams under controllable conditions. According to the company, the process runs on off-the-shelf industrial equipment, which makes it quicker and simpler to scale.

Target markets and commercial progress

FluoRok is aiming at pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and lithium-ion battery manufacturing, industries that depend on fluorochemicals but where supply is concentrated. The company says it has completed pilot qualifications and that more than ten partners across eight countries and three continents are validating its products.

Earlier funding rounds brought in €12.43 million ($14 million), and UK and European public funding has totalled more than €11.54 million ($13 million) to date.

Plans for scale and waste recycling

FluoRok intends to use the new capital to move from startup to industrial scale. Planned steps include building demonstrator facilities for its reagents and battery electrolyte salts, expanding the team and deepening commercial partnerships.

The company also plans to extend its platform to next-generation battery products such as LiFSI and FEC. A further planned stream would convert fluorinated polymer waste, more than 25,000 tonnes of which is incinerated each year in Europe alone, into high-value chemical intermediates.

Open questions

• When will the planned demonstrator facilities be operational?
• Will the waste-to-value stream reach commercial scale?