Published on 13th August 2021
Reliance Industries Ltd, an Indian oil-to-telecoms giant, announced that it, along with billionaire Bill Gates, investment management firm Paulson & Co, and others, will invest $144 million in US energy storage business Ambri Inc.
Reliance has announced a $10 billion green energy strategy as part of its goal to become a net carbon neutral corporation by 2035, with plans to create four "giga factories" in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to produce solar cells and modules, energy storage batteries, fuel cells, and green hydrogen.
Reliance announced in a statement that it will buy 42.3 million shares of preferred stock in Ambri for $50 million through its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL).
RNESL and Ambri are also discussing the possibility of establishing a large-scale battery manufacturing facility in India, according to the business.
Ambri's energy storage devices, which are expected to last between 4 and 24 hours, "will break through the cost, longevity and safety barriers associated with lithium-ion batteries used in grid-scale stationary storage applications" according to Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man.
In a separate statement, Ambri said the funds would be used to design and build high-volume manufacturing facilities in the United States and abroad to supply its long-duration battery systems to meet growing demand from the grid-scale energy storage market and large industrial energy customers, such as data centers.
Reliance's entry into the renewable energy market in India will pit it against companies like Adani Green Energy Ltd and ReNew Power, which is sponsored by Goldman Sachs.
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