Reliance Industries' subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar has joined hands with strategic investors Paulson & Co. Inc., Bill Gates and others to invest $144 million in the Massachusetts-based energy storage company Ambri. As part of the investment, RNESL will put in $50 million to acquire 42.3 million shares of preferred stock in energy storage company. Reliance Industries shares rose as much as 1 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 2,099.70 on the BSE following the investment announcement.
"The investment will help the company commercialise and grow its long-duration energy storage systems business globally," Reliance Industries said in a press release.
Ambri's patented energy storage systems are designed to last 4-24 hours and it will break through the cost, longevity and safety barriers associated with lithium-ion batteries used in grid-scale stationary storage applications, Reliance Industries said.
Both the companies are also in discussions for collaboration to set up a large-scale battery manufacturing facility in India.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, at the company's annual general meeting earlier this year, had announced plans to build a giga factory in Jamnagar for the storage of energy, as part of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex project.
Ambri can cater to projects that require energy storage systems from 10 MWh to over 2 GWh. The company will manufacture calcium and antimony electrode-based cells and containerised systems that are more economical than lithium-ion batteries, capable of operating safely in any climatic condition without requiring supplemental air conditioning and meant to last for over 20 years with minimal degradation, Reliance Industries added.
As of 10:24 am, Reliance Industries shares traded 0.8 per cent higher at Rs 2,094, outperforming the Sensex which was up 0.4 per cent.
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