Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has purchased a 100 percent stake in Faradion Limited, a UK-based corporation, for GBP 100 million. Reliance Industries said it will spend an additional GBP 25 million to speed up its rollout.

“Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, has entered into an agreement with Faradion Limited (Faradion) and its shareholders for acquiring 100 percent of the equity shares of Faradion through secondary transactions for a total value of GBP 94.42Mn based on an enterprise value of GBP 100Mn…”, says RIL.

Faradion Limited is a world-leading battery technology company with sodium-ion battery patents. The firm, which is based in Sheffield and Oxford, has a diverse IP portfolio that covers numerous facets of sodium-ion technology.

According to the company, the technology provides a next-generation, high-density, safe, sustainable, and low-cost energy storage solution.

The Mukesh Ambani-led company said it will deploy Faradion's cutting-edge technology at its projected fully integrated energy storage gigafactory as part of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex project in Jamnagar.

According to the regulatory filing, the RIL subsidiary would buy 88.92 percent of Faradion's equity shares for an aggregate value of 83.97 million (INR 8.43 million) at close, which is scheduled in early January 2022. It stated that the remaining 11.08 percent of Faradion's equity shares will be bought within three years of the deal completion for a total value of up to 10.45 million pounds (INR 1.04 billion).

Reliance New Energy Solar has also agreed to subscribe to Faradion's new equity shares for an aggregate value of 31.59 million pounds (INR 3.17 billion), of which 25 million pounds (INR 2.5 billion) is for expansion capital and the remainder is for debt repayment and other costs.

The move is in line with Mukesh Ambani's ambitious ambitions to invest Rs 75,000 crore in a new sustainable energy sector over the next three years, as part of RIL's promise to be carbon neutral by 2035. The plan is divided into three parts: a Rs 60,000 core investment in four giga factories that will manufacture and fully integrate all critical components for the business; a Rs 15,000 crore investment in developing the value chain, partnerships, and future technologies; and a Rs 15,000 crore investment in developing the value chain, partnerships, and future technologies.

On the acquisition, Ambani said, “we welcome Faradion and its experienced team to the Reliance family. This will further strengthen and build upon our ambition to create one of the most advanced and integrated New Energy ecosystems and put India at the forefront of leading battery technologies”.

“This will further strengthen and build upon our ambition to create one of the most advanced and integrated new energy ecosystems 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”, adds Ambani.

Ambani further stated that Faradion's technology will assist India meet its energy storage needs for its rapidly expanding renewable energy and electric vehicle charging markets.