Reliance Industries makes a Green Energy Bet with Stake in Ambri Inc

The big differentiating technologies in green energy is likely to be the use of Lithium batteries and beyond. However, many of these technologies are yet to take off in a commercial way. This week, Reliance New Energy Solar, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, joined a consortium of strategic investors to invest $144 million in Ambri Inc. Ambri is a specialized energy storage company based out of Massachusetts in the United States. 

Reliance will acquire 42.3 million preferred shares in Ambri Inc for $50 million, while other like Paulson & Company and Bill Gates will be the other strategic investors. According to a Reliance spokesperson, the big challenge in renewable energy forms is integration into electric power grids. One way is a long duration energy storage system that is safe, durable and economical. It is this type of storage system that Ambri will commercialize with the fund infusion from strategic investors. 

In its 44th AGM, Reliance Industries had laid out an elaborate green energy plan to makes its O2C (oil to chemicals) business environmentally sustainable in the future. Under the terms of the agreement, Reliance New Energy Solar and Ambri Inc will collaborate to set up a large scale battery manufacturing unit to make Reliance’s green energy plans more viable. This is likely to be part of the Giga Factory project at Jamnagar that Mr. Mukesh Ambani had announced in the Reliance Industries AGM.

Currently, Ambri’s technology can cater to projects needing energy systems ranging from 10 MWh to 2 GWh. Reliance New Energy, in association with Ambri will manufacture calcium and antimony electrode based cells, which are more economical and more flexible than lithium-ion batteries. These batteries can last up to 20 years without degrading.