Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% shareholding in Faradion Ltd for an enterprise value of GBP 100 million.
Based out of Sheffield and Oxford in UK Faradion is a battery technology company with patented sodium-ion battery technology. The company has a wide-reaching and extensive IP portfolio covering several aspects of sodium-ion technology.
RNESL will also invest GBP 25 million as growth capital to accelerate commercial roll out.
Reliance claims that Faradion’s sodium-ion technology provides significant advantages compared to alternative battery technologies, especially lithium-ion and lead acid, including:
Sustainable – There is no dependence and use of cobalt, lithium, copper or graphite. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element on the planet; Patented zero-volt safe transport and storage; Low cost – total cost of ownership already comparable to lead-acid with potential for further reductions in costs; Scalability – utilises existing lithium-ion manufacturing infrastructure and is already proven with multiple commercial manufacturing partners; Performance – energy density on par with lithium-ion phosphate and with wider operating temperature range of -30℃ to +60℃ and fast charge/ discharge capability.
"All of this combines to offer a next generation, high density, safe, sustainable and low cost energy storage technology solution," the company said.
Reliance will use Faradion’s state-of-the-art technology at its proposed fully integrated energy storage giga-factory as part of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex project at Jamnagar.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, said, “This will further strengthen and build upon our ambition to create one of the most advanced and integrated New Energy ecosystem and put India at the forefront of leading battery technologies. The sodium-ion technology developed by Faradion provides a globally leading energy storage and battery solution which is safe, sustainable, provides high energy density and is significantly cost competitive. In addition, it has wide use applications from mobility to grid scale storage and back-up power.”
“Most importantly, it utilizes sodium, which will secure India’s energy storage requirements for its large renewable energy and fast-growing EV charging market. We will work with Faradion management and accelerate its plans to commercialise the technology through building integrated and end-to-end giga scale manufacturing in India. We believe this will be one of our many steps that will also enable, accelerate, and secure large scale energy storage requirements for our Indian partners developing and transforming India’s EV mobility and transport sector," said Ambani.
