Reliance Industries (RIL), which is looking to branch out to carbon-neutral energy, targets to commission a series of projects, including a photovoltaic (PV) module factory, energy storage battery factory, and green hydrogen plant starting next year. Firstly, it will establish a 10 GW solar PV factory in Jamnagar. The production of battery packs will also be started soon after. The plan is to scale up the production to a fully integrated 5 GWh annual cell-to-pack manufacturing facility.
In 2025, RIL plans to commission the 20 GW solar power generation project. The power will be fully utilised for its green hydrogen production. The project will commence RIL's transition from grey to green hydrogen.
The petroleum-to-telecom major had earlier earmarked Rs 75,000 crore investment for building five giga factories in Jamnagar. Chairman Mukesh Ambani already said the company was ready to double its investment to further scale up the new energy manufacturing ecosystem. He wants to bring down the cost of green hydrogen to $1 a kilogram in a decade of time.
In February 2023, the company unveiled its first hydrogen internal combustion engine technology for heavy-duty trucks and buses. It is also exploring hydrogen fuel cell technology solutions and is partnering with auto manufacturers.
Ambani earlier announced the plan to create an ecosystem for generating 100GW of solar power by 2030 and achieving net carbon zero status by 2035. To meet the targets, he announced five Giga factories --- integrated solar photovoltaic module factory, an advanced energy storage battery factory, an electrolyser factory, a fuel cell factory, and a power electronics factory.
It has already partnered with leading companies globally in solar, battery, and ectrolyser space. RIL is developing 5,000 acres of land in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to build the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex. It has two refineries and a petrochemical complex in the vicinity.
Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), acquired REC Solar ($771 million), Sterling Wilson (a 40% stake for $240 million), and Faradion ($100 million) and invested in NexWafe ($30 million). It signed a cooperation agreement with Denmark-based Stiesdal A/S for the technology development and manufacturing of hydrogen electrolyzers in India. RNESL also made an investment of $50 million in Ambri Inc., an energy storage company based in Massachusetts, USA.
The photovoltaic giga factory will convert raw silica to polysilicon and to ingot and wafers. The wafers will be used to make high-efficiency solar cells and modules. Goldman Sachs estimates Reliance's new energy business EBITDA at $12.2-$16.8 billion in FY40. It is expected to be $3.6-$4.5 billion by FY30.
