Battery Chemicals Startup FluoRok Raises $30M Funding to Cut Toxic Hydrofluoric Acid From Supply Chains

FluoRok, the Oxford University spinout developing fluorine chemistry without toxic hydrogen fluoride, has raised $30 million in Series A funding led by Orano Venture Fund and its manager Supernova Invest, with participation from Bidra Innovation Ventures, CPI Enterprises, EverQuest Capital Partners, WS Investment, and several angel investors. The round was oversubscribed and included approximately $1.3 million in Innovate UK grant funding.

The funding brings FluoRok’s total equity funding to approximately $44 million, following a £3 million investment from Oxford Science Enterprises in July 2023 and a £7.7 million round in September 2024 led by [BGF](https://www.bgf.co.uk/) and Green Generation Fund. The company had also received over $13 million in UK and European public funding.

FluoRok Funding Overview By CREDX Media

Startup Name	FluoRok
Founders	Gabriele Pupo (CEO), Véronique Gouverneur
Founded	2022
HQ	Oxford, UK
Round	Series A Funding
Amount Raised	$30M
Valuation	Not disclosed
Category	Climate Tech, Battery Chemicals, Fluorine Chemistry
Lead Investors	Orano Venture Fund, Supernova Invest
Key Investors	Bidra Innovation Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, Green Generation Fund, Volta Energy Technologies, University of Oxford, CPI Enterprises, EverQuest Capital Partners, WS Investment
Total Funding Raised	~$44M equity
Key Products	Fluorinated reagents, LiPF6 battery electrolyte salts
Key Milestone	Pilot-scale production proven

💡 Use of Funds

• Demonstrator Facilities: Building facilities for fluorinated reagents and battery electrolyte salts.
• Team Growth: Further hiring across engineering and commercial functions.
• Customer Validation: Testing at scale with battery and pharmaceutical customers.
• Commercial Partnerships: Expanding partnerships with industrial players.

Startup Overview: FluoRok

What FluoRok Is Building in Simple Words

FluoRok has developed a mechanical activation process that produces fluorochemicals without hydrogen fluoride (HF)—a highly toxic chemical that currently underpins most fluorine chemistry, including the lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) used in virtually all lithium-ion batteries.

• HF-Free Process: Instead of using hydrogen fluoride, FluoRok uses mechanical activation to produce fluorinated reagents from fluorspar or fluoride recovered from industrial waste.
• Standard Equipment: The process can run on standard manufacturing equipment, reducing capital requirements and enabling faster scale-up.
• Lower-Grade Feedstock: FluoRok’s process can use lower-grade fluorspar, expanding the pool of usable raw materials.
• Two Product Lines: Fluorinated reagents for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, and LiPF6 battery electrolyte salts.

Why FluoRok Matters

• China dominates the LiPF6 supply chain: Roughly 85-90% of LiPF6 is produced in China, according to Fastmarkets. FluoRok’s European Innovation Council project aims to make it the first EU-based LiPF6 producer .
• HF is a safety and siting constraint: Hydrogen fluoride is so toxic that it limits where new plants can be built. Removing HF from the process opens up new locations and reduces safety risks .
• Policy tailwinds are strong: The EU’s ReSourceEU plan commits up to €3 billion in 2026 to critical raw materials, and FluoRok’s technology directly addresses European sovereignty in battery supply chains .
• Proven at pilot scale: Orano Venture Fund’s Florian de Beauchaine noted that FluoRok “has already shown its process works at pilot scale” .

Founder Background: The Max Planck PhD Building Industrial Fluorine Chemistry

Gabriele Pupo (CEO) trained in Turin, earned his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research under Nobel Prize winner Ben List, and completed a postdoc at Oxford in Professor Véronique Gouverneur’s group in 2017. He subsequently held a Junior Research Fellowship at Corpus Christi College and taught at Merton College .

Véronique Gouverneur is a Royal Society fellow and won the 2021 Moissan Prize for fluorine chemistry—one of the field’s highest honors .

Pupo attributes the company’s early success to having the right people and expertise. Oxford Science Enterprises provided the initial £3 million investment in July 2023, and the company has since scaled from postdoc project to industrial contender .

Founder Intelligence: What Founders Can Learn from FluoRok

• Build on world-class academic research: FluoRok emerged from Gouverneur’s Oxford lab, one of the world’s leading fluorine chemistry groups. Deep academic roots can become industrial advantage.
• Solve a safety problem, not just a cost problem: HF is dangerous. Removing it from the process isn’t just cheaper—it changes where plants can be built and how they’re regulated. Safety can be a commercial differentiator.
• Stack public and private funding: FluoRok has raised $44 million in equity plus $13 million+ in public funding and a $1.3 million Innovate UK grant. In deep tech, non-dilutive capital accelerates scale-up without excessive dilution.
• Target a bottleneck the whole industry shares: LiPF6 supply is concentrated in China, and HF is a siting constraint everywhere. FluoRok’s solution addresses a problem every battery maker and government faces.

Investor Intelligence: Why This Round Gets Premium Capital

Orano Venture Fund, the venture arm of the French nuclear fuel group, led the round alongside its manager Supernova Invest. Florian de Beauchaine framed the thesis: “We back companies whose technologies support a sovereign, sustainable industrial transition. 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” .

Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, Green Generation Fund, Volta Energy Technologies, and the University of Oxford all returned from previous rounds, signaling sustained conviction in the technology and team .

The investor composition signals conviction: Orano’s strategic interest in nuclear and industrial chemistry, Supernova’s deep-tech expertise, and the continued participation of early backers position FluoRok to scale as European battery supply chains come under pressure to localize.

The Road Ahead for FluoRok

Expansion Targets

With $30 million in capital, FluoRok will:

• Build demonstrator facilities for reagents and battery electrolyte salts .
• Validate with customers at scale, moving from pilot to industrial production .
• Expand commercial partnerships with battery and pharmaceutical manufacturers .

The Competitive Landscape

FluoRok’s main competition comes from established players rather than startups:

• Orbia’s Koura operation is building a LiPF6 plant in Louisiana with capacity up to 10,000 tonnes per year .
• Chinese and South Korean producers including Do-Fluoride, Tinci, Capchem, and Foosung are well established in the market .

FluoRok’s differentiation is its HF-free process, which can use lower-grade fluorspar and run on standard equipment. Whether that translates into cost and scale advantages against established producers will determine its commercial success.

The Distance From Pilot to Plant

The company has proven its process at pilot scale, but scaling to industrial production is a significant challenge. The demonstrator facilities funded by this round are the next step—and the key milestone to watch.

Conclusion

FluoRok’s $30 million Series A funding validates the thesis that removing hydrogen fluoride from fluorine chemistry is both a safety imperative and a commercial opportunity. The company’s mechanical activation process—developed at Oxford and proven at pilot scale—positions it to become Europe’s first LiPF6 producer and a supplier to the battery and pharmaceutical industries.

Market tailwinds favor FluoRok: China’s dominance of LiPF6 supply, European policy pushing for critical raw material sovereignty, and the safety constraints that limit where conventional HF-based plants can be built. Whether FluoRok can move from pilot to plant and compete with established producers remains to be proven—but the company has the capital, the team, and the technology to try.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is FluoRok’s total funding and latest round size?
FluoRok has raised approximately $44 million in total equity funding. Its $30 million Series A was led by Orano Venture Fund and Supernova Invest in November 2026 .

2. How much did FluoRok raise in its Series A round and who led the investment?
FluoRok raised $30 million led by Orano Venture Fund and Supernova Invest, with participation from Bidra Innovation Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, Green Generation Fund, Volta Energy Technologies, and others.

3. What is the valuation of FluoRok?
FluoRok did not disclose its post-money valuation.

4. Who are the major investors in FluoRok?
Major investors include Orano Venture Fund and Supernova Invest (co-leads), Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, Green Generation Fund, Volta Energy Technologies, and the University of Oxford .

5. Who are FluoRok’s founders?
FluoRok was founded in 2022 by Dr. Gabriele Pupo (CEO) and Prof. Véronique Gouverneur, based on research from the University of Oxford .

6. What is FluoRok’s business model?
FluoRok produces and sells fluorinated reagents and LiPF6 battery electrolyte salts, targeting pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and battery manufacturers .

7. How does FluoRok’s technology work?
FluoRok uses mechanical activation to produce fluorochemicals without hydrogen fluoride, using fluorspar or recovered fluoride from industrial waste. The process runs on standard equipment .

8. What traction justifies FluoRok’s Series A funding?
FluoRok has proven its process at pilot scale and secured backing from Orano Venture Fund, which noted the technology’s safety and supply chain benefits. The company has also secured public funding from Innovate UK and European sources.

9. What are FluoRok’s plans for the $30 million Series A capital?
FluoRok will build demonstrator facilities for reagents and battery electrolyte salts, grow its team, validate with customers at scale, and expand commercial partnerships.

10. Who are FluoRok’s main competitors?
Competitors include Orbia’s Koura (building a LiPF6 plant in Louisiana), and established Chinese and South Korean producers including Do-Fluoride, Tinci, Capchem, and Foosung.

11. Who is the CEO of FluoRok?
Dr. Gabriele Pupo serves as CEO. He earned his PhD at the Max Planck Institute under Nobel laureate Ben List and completed a postdoc at Oxford in Prof. Gouverneur’s group.