Reliance Industries is expected to not only go big on green energy, but also to become a disruptor in the sector. It is likely to take a page or two out of its Jio strategy. Mukesh Ambani, in the Reliance Industries annual report stated that India will have the world’s most affordable green energy in the coming years.
“Just as India has the world’s most affordable wireless broadband today, we will have the world’s most affordable Green Energy within this decade. And these solutions will then be exported to other countries, helping them contain carbon emissions,” he said, indicating the feat the company pulled off with Jio.
Ambani said that RIL will leverage its “world-class execution capability and strong debt-free balance sheet” to improve the economics of the green ecosystem to directly compete with fossil fuels. “However, one cannot operate in just one segment of the Green Energy value chain and hope the cost-efficient ecosystem will come up on its own. Reliance has undertaken to enable the entire Green Energy ecosystem throughout India starting with solar power generation, to production of green hydrogen to its distribution and consumption,” he added.
The conglomerate established the Reliance New Energy Council with global thought leaders, announced a $10 billion capex over three years, entered into partnerships with companies like Ambri in the US, Faradion in the UK and The Netherlands-based Lithium Werks for energy storage space, invested in Germany’s NexWafe, acquired promoters’ stake in REC Solar – a global technology leader in solar panel manufacturing, and picked up a 40 per cent stake in Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy. The company also joined hands with US-based Chart Industries to set up India H2 Alliance to commercialise hydrogen technology, and entered into an agreement with Denmark’s Stiesdal A/S for its innovative next-gen electrolyser technology.
Ambani added that work on the four Giga-factories at Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex has also begun.
“Greater affordability and competitive cost structures will ensure massive adoption of Green Energy solutions, providing a booster to India’s Green Energy transition, as well as helping our country to become ‘Atma Nirbhar’ in our energy needs,” he said.
SUSTAINABLE PLANET
In the annual report, the company stated that affordable and clean energy options will present an opportunity to create a “healthier, happier, and sustainable planet”.
“The R&D team has been operating a large pilot facility near Jamnagar, where it converts sunlight, CO2 and seawater to renewable bio-crude. The ponds have been operating continuously without any failure for more than four years. No other organisation in the world has been able to cultivate algae without crashes and significant downtime. Reliance has developed all the technology components which will be instrumental in converting CO2 to useful products to combat climate change,” it said.
The report added that RIL also has developed a catalytic gasification technology that can convert carbonaceous feedstocks such as petcoke, coal, biomass into hydrogen and syngas. “The novel catalytic process can be used to convert challenging feedstocks like high-ash Indian coal and agricultural residue into hydrogen or syngas,” it said.
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