Oxford, United Kingdom, 04 August 2025 – FluoRok is pleased to announce it has been awarded a ~£1.5 million Demonstrate grant under the Department for Business and Trade’s £2.5 billion DRIVE35 programme, delivered through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and part of the Advanced Manufacturing Plan to strengthen Britain’s zero-emission vehicle supply chain.
As the UK accelerates its shift to low-carbon transport and renewable energy, the need for sustainably produced battery materials, currently sourced using high-emitting technology from geopolitically sensitive regions, becomes critical.
In partnership with Coventry University and translational research and innovation centre CPI (part of UK Government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult), FluoRok will lead a consortium to deliver a UK-based demonstrator facility for the production of Lithium Hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆), a critical electrolyte salt used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
The new facility, which will produce large-scale volumes per annum, is based on FluoRok’s innovative fluorochemical manufacturing process, using commercial scale manufacturing technologies. The project is designed to enable industrial-scale production and address a strategic UK supply chain vulnerability.
Alongside production scale-up, the project will include:
Qualification testing in lithium-ion batteries
A strong emphasis on sustainability, circularity and production efficiency
A public showcase at the 2026 CENEX Expo
Dr Gabriele Pupo, CEO of FluoRok, commented, “This award marks a pivotal step for UK battery chemistry and national supply chain resilience. By demonstrating scalable, UK-based production of LiPF₆, we’re addressing a critical bottleneck in the EV value chain. We’re proud to be working alongside CPI and Coventry University to deliver technology with lasting environmental and economic impact.”
Dr Keri Goodwin, Chief Technologist at CPI, said, “We’re excited to partner with FluoRok and Coventry University to accelerate the commercialisation of this essential fluorochemical process. This aligns perfectly with CPI’s mission to support advanced materials innovation and strengthen UK manufacturing capability in the electrification sector.”
Prof. Alex Roberts at Coventry University, added, “This collaboration brings together industrial chemistry, manufacturing know-how, and academic excellence. Our research teams are eager to contribute deep expertise in battery cell prototyping and performance evaluation that will help ensure the project’s commercial success and environmental responsibility.”
Ian Constance, CEO of the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK and Zenzic said, “This new investment underlines the commitment from Government to secure advanced manufacturing in the UK. I am pleased that the APC, Zenzic, and its delivery partners are here to facilitate a new wave of funding in the automotive industry, supporting innovation, driving scale-up, and enabling transformation.”
This initiative contributes directly to the UK’s ambitions for green growth, technological sovereignty, and a robust low-carbon automotive sector.
Note to editors:
About FluoRok: FluoRok is a deep-tech scale-up company based in Oxford, UK and focused on fluorochemical manufacturing and licensing. It develops novel and transformational technologies to access fluorochemicals in an efficient, safe, lower cost and sustainable way and unlock localised production. Spun-out of the University of Oxford in 2022, FluoRok’s team has decades of cumulative experience in fluorination chemistry, and extensive manufacturing, commercial and business development expertise.
FluoRok’s proprietary technology directly employs fluorinated waste or naturally occurring fluorite mineral as raw material, to access high value fluorochemicals that are key to the world’s energy transition, our global food supply, and our health. Its innovative solution reduces energy requirements, lowers CO2 emissions, enables reshoring of manufacturing due to intrinsic process safety and introduces for the first time the circular economy in fluorochemical production. Traditional barriers to entry such as high capital expenditure, regulatory challenges, and complex controls of hazardous operations, are circumvented, thus allowing for easy adoption and rapid scale-up of the technology.
FluoRok is backed by an outstanding investor syndicate including Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, Green Generation Fund, Volta Energy Technologies, Excellis and the University of Oxford.
For more information, visit www.fluorok.com or contact info@fluorok.com.
About CPI: CPI is a UK-based innovation catalyst, bringing together academia, businesses, government, and investors to accelerate the development and commercialisation of deep tech and advanced materials. As a founding member of the UK Government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, CPI helps companies translate bold ideas into sustainable products and processes with real-world impact.
CPI works across key markets including healthtech, sustainable materials, and pharmaceuticals. Through initiatives like the Advanced Materials Battery Industrialisation Centre (AMBIC), CPI supports the scale-up of next-generation battery technologies, helping to strengthen the UK’s net-zero supply chains and boost sovereign manufacturing capability.
For more information, visit http://www.uk-cpi.com
About Coventry University Group: Coventry University Group is a global education group with one clear mission: Creating Better Futures. With a reputation for innovation and inclusivity, we empower students and communities across the world to transform their lives and society through teaching, learning, research and enterprise.
We have a commitment to transformative education and training, and we offer world-class campus facilities and longstanding industry partnerships that help us to nurture job-ready graduates with the skills and creative thinking needed to improve their communities.
About The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC): APC collaborates with UK government, the automotive industry, and academia to facilitate driving research and investment in zero-emission vehicle manufacturing. Established in 2013 and jointly funded by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT and the automotive industry, the APC accelerates the technologies that support the transition to zero-emission vehicle manufacturing and towards a net-zero automotive supply chain in the UK.
With a proven track record, the APC has facilitated funding for 354 low-carbon and zero-emission projects involving 614 partners. Working with companies of all sizes, this funding since 2013 is estimated to have helped create or safeguard over 59,000 jobs in the UK. The technologies and products are projected to save over 425 million tonnes of CO2.
The APC is committed to sustaining and enhancing the UK’s long-term automotive capabilities and investments through knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and innovation. Focus in the following three key areas – Innovation, Scale-up, and Transformation – is driving innovation and investment in a globally competitive zero-emission vehicle supply chain, and building a strong economy through the delivery of safer, smarter, more sustainable, and affordable mobility:
Innovation – Funding product and process innovation of strategic and disruptive technologies for zero-emission vehicles, including digital tools and AI-driven processes.
Scale-up – Accelerating manufacturing by catalysing investment in advanced technologies for zero- emission vehicles, scaling-up sustainable production processes.
Transformation – Driving capital investment in an internationally competitive EV supply chain and upgrading or establishing new plants, securing future zero-emission vehicle assembly in the UK.
For more information go to apcuk.co.uk or follow: Advanced Propulsion Centre UK on LinkedIn.