Reliance Industries [RIL:IN], the largest publicly traded company in India, has signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100% equity in UK sodium-ion battery technology firm Faradion for GBP100m (USD135m), as reported by Bloomberg on December 31. Moreover, Reliance will inject an additional GBP25m (USD33.75m) into the UK battery firm to accelerate the commercial rollout of its technology. Reliance claimed in an exchange filing that Faradion’s sodium-ion batteries outstrip alternative batteries by far, as they are economical, sustainable, and scalable, with no dependence on cobalt, lithium, copper, or graphite.

Reliance plans to apply Faradion’s battery technology in its proposed energy storage giga-factory, a crucial part of the company’s green energy complex in Jamnagar in western India. The complex will comprise every stage of the solar photovoltaic (PV) supply chain, covering energy storage, hydrogen production, and fuel cells. According to Reliance CEO Mukesh Ambani, the company will have a solar power capacity of at least 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, as India aims for a 450 GW renewable power installation by then. The transaction with the UK battery firm also marks the sixth green deal for Reliance, after it promised to invest USD10bn in renewable energy initiatives in three years since June 2021. As of now, fossil fuel-related businesses still contribute 60% of Reliance’s revenue, and the enterprise aims to reach carbon net-zero by 2035.

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-31/reliance-caps-slew-of-green-purchases-with-british-battery-firm

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-31/reliance-caps-slew-of-green-purchases-with-british-battery-firm

https://www.firstpost.com/india/ril-to-invest-75000-cr-in-jamnagar-for-green-energy-complex-says-mukesh-ambani-9934061.html