Reliance Industries, a diversified Indian conglomerate, has set a target of installing 20GW of photovoltaic systems by 2025.
Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said the planned PV systems would fully meet the company's need for 24/7 power and renewable energy supply for green hydrogen production.
Ambani said Reliance Industries aims to install 100GW of photovoltaic systems by 2030 and plans to become a net zero carbon company by 2035. He noted that the company's renewable energy consumption soared by 352% last year.
Photovoltaic modules
In October 2021, Reliance Industries acquired REC Solar Holdings, a Norway-based manufacturer of PV cells, modules and polysilicon, known for its high-efficiency heterojunction technology (HJT) PV modules. in April 2022, Reliance Industries also signed an agreement with Maxwell Technology to purchase eight In April 2022, Reliance Industries also signed an agreement with Maxwell Technology to purchase eight high-efficiency production lines with an annual capacity of 4.8GW of heterojunction (HJT) PV cells.
Ambani said Reliance Industries has a clear roadmap for improvement and aims to increase the efficiency of HJT PV cells from 23% to 26% by 2026, and further to 28% through innovations such as calcium titanium tandem cell technology. Ambani noted that the Jamnagar production facility for 10GW of PV modules based on REC technology will be opened in 2024, with a phased expansion to 20GW of annual capacity by 2026.
The company will also invest in the manufacture of glass and polyolefin encapsulated (POE) films to provide for the supply of its PV module manufacturing facilities.
Green hydrogen
Ambani said that after assessing Reliance Industries' cost and performance targets in the clean energy sector, the company is moving forward with its operations to begin the transition from grey hydrogen to green hydrogen by 2025.
Reliance Industries has signed a partnership agreement with Stiesdal to develop and manufacture pressurised alkaline electrolyzers in India, and Ambani noted that the company is in advanced discussions with other leading global electrolyzer technology providers to establish a gigawatt-scale electrolyzer manufacturing facility at Ambani.
Reliance Industries signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government earlier this year to invest Rs 59,550 crore (approximately US$80.61 billion) in renewable energy projects. It is proposed to encourage SMEs to opt for new technologies and promote the adoption of green hydrogen and clean energy.
Energy storage systems
Ambani said it would set up four manufacturing plants to produce energy storage systems (ESS), photovoltaic modules, green hydrogen and fuel cell systems. The group aims to develop a fully integrated new energy manufacturing ecosystem in Jamnagar, for which the company has committed to invest Rs 7,500 crore (about US$ 9.3 billion).
The company plans to start producing batteries by 2023, with annual production capacity reaching 5 GWh of annual batteries by 2024 and further growing to 50 GWh by 2027.
To strengthen its supply chain for large-scale manufacturing and the growing market for battery storage systems and electric vehicles, Reliance Industries strategically acquired all the assets of Lithium Werks, a supplier of cobalt-free lithium-ion phosphate batteries, for US$61 million in March this year. It has also acquired sodium-ion battery technology provider Faradion for £100 million (approximately US$110.65 million) and has invested US$50 million in Ambri, which provides long term energy storage solutions based on liquid metal technology.
Ambani said that India has the potential to become a major producer of renewable energy and said that the global and Indian commitment to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy will pave the way for high growth in Reliance Industries' business.