Indian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd said Aug. 10 it would invest $144 million in U.S. energy storage company Ambri Inc., along with billionaire Bill Gates, investment management firm Paulson & Co. and others.
The investment comes months after Reliance unveiled a $10 billion green energy plan in its drive to become a net carbon zero company by 2035, with plans to build four 'giga factories' at Jamnagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat to produce solar cells and modules, energy storage batteries, fuel cells and green hydrogen.
Reliance, through its wholly-owned unit Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), will acquire 42.3 million shares of preferred stock in Ambri for $50 million, the company said.
RNESL and Ambri are also in talks to set up a large-scale battery manufacturing facility in India, the company added.
Designed to last between 4-24 hours, Ambri's energy storage systems "will break through the cost, longevity and safety barriers associated with lithium-ion batteries used in grid-scale stationary storage applications", said the company led by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani.
Ambri, in a separate statement, said it would use the funds to design and build high-volume manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and internationally that will 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 business in India will put it in competition with companies such as Adani Green Energy Ltd. and Goldman Sachs-backed ReNew Power.
Recommended Reading
CEO: Baker Hughes Lands $3.5B in New Contracts in ‘Age of Gas’
2024-07-26 - Baker Hughes revised down its global upstream spending outlook for the year due to “North American softness” with oil activity recovery in second half unlikely to materialize, President and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said.
Pemex Hits Debt Target, Struggles to Reverse Production Declines
2024-07-26 - Pemex achieved its long-term debt target, which aimed to gets its financial obligations below the $100 billion, while struggling to halt production declines.
Dividends Declared in the Week of July 22
2024-07-25 - Second quarter earnings are underway, and companies are declaring dividends.
NextDecade Appoints Former Exxon Mobil Executive Tarik Skeik as COO
2024-07-25 - Tarik Skeik will take up NextDecade's COO reins roughly two months after the company disclosed it had doubts about remaining a “going concern.”
Freeport LNG Parent Receives Junk-level Credit Score From Fitch
2024-07-25 - Credit-rating firm Fitch Ratings cited the 2 Bcf/d Texas plant’s frequent downtimes among the factors leading to lowering Freeport LNG Investments LLLP’s credit grade on July 25.