Oxford's FluoRok raises €26.64 million Series A for fluorochemicals made without hydrogen fluoride
The Oxford spin-out's process, tested at pilot scale, releases fluorine without hydrogen fluoride. The funds go to demonstrator facilities and scale-up.
Oxford-based FluoRok, a University of Oxford spin-out founded in 2022, has closed a €26.64 million ($30 million) Series A round, according to EU-Startups. eu-startups.com
EU-Startupseu-startups.comOpen source ↗ The round was led by Orano Ventures Fund/Supernova Invest, with Bidra Innovation Ventures participating. Existing backers Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, GGF, Volta Energy Technologies and the University of Oxford also took part.
FluoRok says the round exceeded its original target. It included several angel investors, smaller partners such as EverQuest Capital Partners, CPI Enterprises and WS Investment, and about €1.15 million ($1.3 million) in grant funding from Innovate UK through its Investor Partnerships programme.
Fluorochemicals without hydrogen fluoride
Conventional fluorochemical production relies on a 250-year-old process that depends on hydrogen fluoride (HF), one of the most hazardous chemicals in industrial use. It also depends on high-purity fluorspar predominantly sourced from China. According to the company, this creates safety, supply and cost risks.
FluoRok's patented platform bypasses the HF-based route. It combines mechanical activation with base chemistry to release fluorine from lower-grade mineral sources and from fluoride-containing industrial waste streams under controllable conditions. The company says the process runs on off-the-shelf industrial equipment, which makes it faster and easier to scale. eu-startups.com
EU-Startupseu-startups.comOpen source ↗
The target markets are pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and lithium-ion battery manufacturing. FluoRok says it has completed pilot qualifications and that its products are being validated by more than ten partners in eight countries across three continents.
Funding and plans
The Series A builds on €12.43 million ($14 million) raised in earlier rounds and more than €11.54 million ($13 million) in UK and European public funding to date. The company plans to build demonstrator facilities for its reagents and battery electrolyte salts, expand its team and deepen commercial partnerships.
FluoRok also plans to scale the platform for battery products such as LiFSI and FEC. A further direction is a waste-to-value stream that converts fluorinated polymer waste into high-value chemical intermediates. More than 25,000 tonnes of such waste is incinerated annually in Europe alone. eu-startups.com
EU-Startupseu-startups.comOpen source ↗
Florian de Beauchaine of Orano Venture Fund/Supernova Invest said FluoRok has already shown that its process works at pilot scale. Founder and CEO Gabriele Pupo said the funding should help the company move from start-up to scale-up.
