Reliance Industries has started pilots of its solar and battery energy storage projects in Jamnagar ahead of its start of production of 9.6 GW modules later this year.
The Mukesh Ambani-controlled conglomerate is building a gargantuan giga complex spread over 5,000 acres as part of its new energy business, with an investment of over $10 billion. Sources indicated that the company is on schedule to start production soon.
While announcing the first quarter results for FY25, the company, for the first time, made a brief mention of its new energy business saying that it had made significant progress on the implementation of new energy giga factories. It did not, however, give any other details.
The green energy business that consists of renewable energy and new energy such as hydrogen, are expected to drive the next phase of growth for the company. Though its consumer facing businesses such as retail and digital are still in the growth phase, both have attained a steady state and will be propelled under their own momentum driven by its initiatives to attract customers.
The main components of the green energy ecosystem are the integrated solar modules, battery storage system and renewable energy feeding into the modular electrolysers that will be producing green hydrogen that will be converted by fuel cells into electricity.
The company has already prepared for the entire value chain by 10 strategic acquisitions for around $1.5 billion. In January, it signed an agreement with Gujarat government to secure 74,750 hectare land in for green hydrogen production. In April, it got six plots from the Deendayal Port Authority to set up units to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia. In the same month, the company was one of the bidders for the rebidding of Production-Linked Incentives scheme for the manufacturing of 10 GWh Advanced Chemistry Cells. The company had secured PLI for ACC storage of 5 GWh in an earlier round in 2022, while it has also won PLIs for solar modules.
The new energy business has been valued at $20 billion by Nuvama Research based on FY26 sales, comprising 12 per cent of the total.