The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) has announced that it is joining American business magnate Bill Gates for investing in Ambri, a Massachusetts-based energy storage company. Apart from the two billionaires, other investors such as New York-based hedge fund manager Paulson too have invested in Ambri.
Ambri has received a total funding of $144 million (Rs 1,100 crore), of which RIL contributed 35%, that is, $50 million (Rs 375 crore). India’s most valued company has routed the Ambri investment through its 100% arm Reliance New Energy Solar. Ambri is RIL’s first investment in low-carbon technology after Ambani laid out a road map for a clean-energy play at the company’s annual general meeting in June. The plan includes building a factory in Jamnagar, Gujarat, for the storage of intermittent energy.
RIL and Ambri are also exploring to set up a battery manufacturing facility in India, which “would bring down costs” for the former’s green energy initiative, the Indian company said. Ambri, an MIT spin-out, will use the money to build manufacturing infrastructure in the US and in other countries. Ambri makes low-cost, durable battery systems that can last for long hours. This makes it suitable to meet the growing demand from the grid-scale energy storage market and from other customers like data centres.
The deal will give RIL access to Ambri’s cost-efficient energy storage technology as the Indian company looks to decarbonise the existing business as well as build a green energy business. RIL said that Ambri’s energy storage systems will break through the cost, longevity and safety barriers associated with lithium-ion batteries used in grid-scale storage applications and will enable a storage solution capable of supporting the increasing amounts of renewable energy being integrated into electric power grids.
Separately, Ambri has inked an agreement to source antimony, a key mineral used in battery chemistry, from Perpetua Resources, whose largest shareholder is Paulson. The calcium and antimony electrode-based cells and containerised systems are more economical than lithium-ion batteries.
(With inputs from agencies)