FluoRok raises USD 30m to make fluorochemicals without hydrogen fluoride
The University of Oxford spinout wants to move from pilot to industrial scale with a process that avoids one of industry's most hazardous chemicals and reduces reliance on Chinese fluorspar.
FluoRok, a University of Oxford spinout, has closed a USD 30 million (EUR 26.64 million) Series A round led by Orano Venture Fund and its manager Supernova Invest, EU-Startups and Tech Funding News reported on 5 November 2026.
Bidra Innovation Ventures joined as a new investor, and existing backers Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, GGF, Volta Energy Technologies and the University of Oxford also took part. The company said the round exceeded its original target.
Why fluorine chemistry matters
Fluorochemicals are essential in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and lithium-ion batteries. The conventional production route, which EU-Startups described as a 250-year-old process, depends on hydrogen fluoride (HF), one of the most hazardous chemicals in industrial use, and on high-purity fluorspar sourced predominantly from China.
Tech Funding News, citing Fastmarkets, reported that China produces roughly 85-90% of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), the electrolyte salt used in the vast majority of lithium-ion batteries. Because the HF route is so toxic, it also limits where new plants can be built.
How FluoRok's process works
Founded in 2022 by Oxford chemistry professor Véronique Gouverneur and Gabriele Pupo, who is CEO, FluoRok has developed a patented process that bypasses HF entirely. According to EU-Startups, it combines mechanical activation with base chemistry to unlock fluorine from lower-grade mineral sources and even fluoride-containing industrial waste, under controllable conditions. The process runs on off-the-shelf industrial equipment, which the company says makes it faster to scale.
The company says it has completed pilot qualifications and that its products are being validated by more than ten partners across eight countries and three continents. Its initial targets are inorganic fluorides for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, and LiPF6 for batteries.
"We are thrilled to welcome new investors on our journey to fundamentally change how the world makes fluorochemicals, with safer chemistry and better economics," Pupo said, according to EU-Startups.
The round
Orano Venture Fund is the venture fund of Orano, the French nuclear fuel group, and Supernova Invest manages it, Tech Funding News reported. Smaller partners EverQuest Capital Partners, CPI Enterprises (also a scale-up partner) and WS Investment joined, alongside several angel investors. The round includes about USD 1.3 million (EUR 1.15 million) in Innovate UK grant funding through its Investor Partnerships programme.
"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," said Florian de Beauchaine, investment manager at Orano Venture Fund/Supernova Invest.
The Series A builds on USD 14 million raised in earlier rounds and more tha USD 13 million in UK and European public funding. Tech Funding News put total equity funding at around USD 44 million. Earlier backing included an initial GBP 3 million from Oxford Science Enterprises, announced in July 2023, and a GBP 7.7 million round led by BGF and the Green Generation Fund in September 2024, the publication reported.
Use of funds
FluoRok plans to move from start-up to industrial scale. That includes building demonstrator facilities for its reagents and battery electrolyte salts, expanding the team, validating products with customers at scale and deepening commercial partnerships. It also plans to extend the platform to next-generation battery materials such as LiFSI and FEC, and to a waste-to-value stream that turns fluorinated polymer waste into chemical intermediates. EU-Startups reported that more than 25,000 tonnes of such waste is incinerated each year in Europe alone.
The competition
FluoRok's main rivals are established producers rather than startups. Tech Funding News pointed to Orbia's Koura, which is building a LiPF6 plant in Louisiana with capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes a year, and to Chinese and South Korean suppliers including Do-Fluoride, Tinci, Capchem and Foosung. It also reported that FluoRok's European Innovation Council project aims to make it the first EU-based LiPF6 producer.
What it means for European founders and investors
The round fits a clear pattern: industrial investors and public funders are backing deep-tech chemistry that reduces Europe's dependence on concentrated supply chains for battery and pharmaceutical inputs. A strategic investor from the French nuclear sector leading a UK spinout's Series A shows that corporate venture arms are prepared to cross borders for critical-materials technology.
For founders, FluoRok also shows how university spinouts can blend equity with substantial grant funding to bridge the expensive gap between pilot and plant. The hard part is still ahead: demonstrating repeatable production at industrial volumes against incumbents with established capacity. For more deep-tech rounds, see our funding section.
Spotted an error? Email contact@europreneursmedia.com and we'll correct it. See our corrections policy and editorial standards.
