Oxford spinout FluoRok raises $30M Series A to make battery chemicals without hydrogen fluoride

FluoRok, an Oxford spinout founded in 2022, raised a $30M Series A led by Orano Venture Fund and Supernova Invest to scale its hydrogen fluoride-free process for battery and pharma chemicals. The round was oversubscribed and brings total equity funding to about $44M, with the money going to demonstrator facilities for reagents and battery electrolyte salts. Most Li-ion batteries use lithium hexafluorophosphate, roughly 85-90% of which is produced in China, according to Fastmarkets.