RIL aims to become net carbon-zero by 2035: Mukesh Ambani
2 min read 15 Jul 2020, 07:56 PM ISTAt RIL's maiden virtual annual shareholders meet, Mukesh Ambani said while Reliance will remain a user of crude oil and natural gas, it is committed to embracing new technologies to convert its carbon dioxide emissions into useful products and chemicals
PremiumEchoing views of his global peers in fighting climate change, Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani today said his company aims to become net carbon zero by 2035.
At the company's maiden virtual annual shareholders meet, Ambani said while Reliance will remain a user of crude oil and natural gas, it is committed to embracing new technologies to convert its carbon dioxide emissions into useful products and chemicals.
"Achieving a cleaner plant can be done by making CO2 as a recyclable resource, rather than treating it as an emitted waste. We have already made substantial progress on photosynthetic biological pathways to convert our CO2 emissions at Jamnagar into high value proteins, nutraceuticals, advanced materials and fuels," Ambani said.
Ambani’s statement comes at a time when climate change has become a major issue for investors. One of the world’s biggest investment firms - BlackRock - on Tuesday said that it has put around 244 companies on a watch list for inadequate measures taken by them on climate issues. The investor also said that it took voting action at the annual meetings of 53 of these companies this year, by voting against re-election of directors of these companies.
Reliance also plans to develop next-gen carbon capture and storage technologies. It is evaluating novel catalytic and electrochemical transformations to use CO2 as a valuable feedstock.
Adding that RIL also had proprietary technology to convert transportation fuels to valuable petrochemical and material building blocks, Ambani said the company will replace transportation fuels with clean electricity and hydrogen. It will combine its strengths in digital, power electronics, advanced materials and electrochemistry to build full stack electrolyser and fuel cell solutions in India.
"We will build an optimal mix of reliable, clean and affordable energy with hydrogen, wind, solar, fuel cells and battery," said Ambani, adding that on successful implementation of this strategy, the company aimed to become net carbon-zero by 2035.
Ambani said RIL had a 15-year vision to become one of the world's leading new energy and new materials companies.
"It will be a platform company that will execute our vision in a worldwide collaborative model. This model envisages a large coalition of global financial investors, reputed technology partners, and start-ups working on futuristic solutions," adding that the business would be based on the principle of carbon recycle .
RIL said it also considers this an opportunity to make clean and green energy abundantly available at an affordable price to every Indian, enterprise and utility.
RIL along with its upstream partner, BP India has set up a fuels and mobility joint venture, Reliance BP Mobility Limited (RBML).
RBML plans to bring cleaner and affordable options for Indian consumers with digital and technology being the key enablers.
Last August the companies had announced their plan to create a new joint venture company that will be owned 51% by RIL and the remainder by BP. RIL had said BP will pay about ₹7,000 crore for acquiring a 49% stake in its existing petrol pumps and aviation turbine fuel network.
BP will bring its extensive global experience in high-quality differentiated fuels, lubricants, retail and advanced low carbon mobility solutions.
