Reliance New Energy Acquires Assets Of Battery Maker Lithium Werks

Reliance Industries Ltd.’s subsidiary agreed to acquire the assets of battery maker Lithium Werks BV as billionaire Mukesh Ambani assembles pieces of his plan to build a renewable energy ecosystem in India.

Reliance New Energy, a fully owned arm of RIL, will pay $61 million to acquire the assets of Lithium Werks that provides cobalt-free and high-performance lithium iron phosphate batteries, according to a company statement.

The assets include an annual production capacity of nearly 200 MWh including coating, cell and custom module manufacturing capability, 219 patents, including exclusive rights to superior LFP nano-technology, cell design, proprietary carbo-thermal reduction manufacturing method and, several next-generation electroactive materials, it said.

The deal is part of Ambani's commitment to invest $10 billion in sustainable energy initiatives over three years. His oil-to-retail conglomerate acquired UK’s Faradion Ltd., a sodium-ion battery technology firm, in January.

The two acquisitions will enable the company in leveraging the experience of the senior management teams, together with the technology and know-how gained through these two companies, the statement said.

“Lithium Werks is one of the leading LFP cell manufacturing companies globally and has a vast patent portfolio and a management team which brings tremendous experience of innovation across LFP value chain,” Ambani said in a statement.

Along with Faradion, Lithium Werks will "help us provide a secure, safe and high-performance supply chain" to the large and growing Indian EV and energy storage markets, he said.