BackReliance New Energy Solar to buy Faradion
RIL arm signs pact to buy 100% stake in UK-based battery firm Faradion
PremiumReliance New Energy Solar Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has signed a definitive agreement to pick up a 100% stake in Faradion Ltd for an enterprise value of £100 million.
Based out of Sheffield and Oxford in the UK, Faradion has a patented sodium-ion battery technology. The company has a wide-reaching and extensive intellectual property portfolio on several aspects of sodium-ion technology.
Reliance New Energy Solar will also invest £25 million in growth capital to accelerate the commercial roll-out.
Reliance said Faradion’s sodium-ion technology offers significant advantage over alternative technologies, such as lithium-ion and lead acid batteries.
Faradion’s patent technology is sustainable as it does not use cobalt, lithium, copper or graphite, while sodium is the sixth most available element in the world.
It has patented zero-volt safe transport and storage and the cost of ownership is at par with lead-acid with the further potential for reduction in cost.
Production can easily be scaled up as it can use existing lithium-ion manufacturing infrastructure. Performance wise, its energy density is on a par with lithium-ion phosphate, but at wider operating temperature of -30 degrees C to +60 degrees C with fast-charge and discharge capabilities.
“All this combines to offer a next-generation, high-density, safe, sustainable and low-cost energy storage technology solution," Reliance said.
Reliance will use Faradion’s state-of-the-art technology at its upcoming fully-integrated energy storage gigafactory at the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar.
“This will further strengthen and build upon our ambition to create one of the most advanced and integrated new energy ecosystems and put India at the forefront of leading battery technologies. The sodium-ion technology developed by Faradion provides a globally leading energy storage and battery solution which is safe, sustainable, provides high energy density and is significantly cost competitive. In addition, it has wide use applications—from mobility to grid-scale storage and back-up power," said Mukesh Ambani, chairman, Reliance Industries.
“Most importantly, it uses sodium, which will secure India’s energy storage requirements for its large renewable energy and fast-growing EV charging market. We will work with Faradion management and accelerate its plans to commercialize the technology through building integrated and end-to-end giga-scale manufacturing in India. We believe this will be one of our many steps that will also enable, accelerate and secure large-scale energy storage requirements for our Indian partners developing and transforming India’s EV mobility and transport sector," added Ambani.
Reliance has been on an acquisition spree in the renewables sector ever since Ambani announced, in June at the company’s AGM, an ambitious plan to invest ₹75,000 crore in a new green and clean ene-rgy business over three years.
On Thursday, RNESL completed its investment of ₹1,100 crore in solar EPC services company Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy.
Earlier in October, RNESL had announced the acquisition of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar (Group) Co. Ltd for an enterprise value of $771 million.
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