RIL and Partners to Invest $144 Million in US-based Energy Storage Company Ambri Inc

Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), along with strategic investors Paulson & Co. Inc. and Bill Gates, and a few other investors, has announced an investment of $144 million in Ambri Inc, an energy storage company based in Massachusetts, USA.

Reliance New Energy Solar will invest $50 million to acquire 42.3 million shares of preferred stock in Ambri.

The investment will help the company commercialise and grow its long-duration energy storage systems business globally.

RNESL and Ambri are in discussions for an exclusive collaboration to set up a large scale battery manufacturing facility in India.

The company said in a statement that based on patented technology and designed to last between 4-24 hours, Ambri’s long duration energy storage systems will break through the cost, longevity and safety barriers associated with lithium-ion batteries used in grid-scale stationary storage applications.

Addressing the shareholders in June this year, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said “We are exploring new and advanced electro-chemical technologies that can be used for such large-scale grid batteries to store the energy that we will create. We will collaborate with global leaders in battery technology to achieve the highest reliability for round-the-clock power availability through a combination of generation, storage, and grid connectivity”.

Ambri can cater to projects that require energy storage systems from 10 Megawatt Hour to over 2 Gigawatt Hour. The company will manufacture calcium and antimony electrode-based cells and containerised systems that are more economical than lithium-ion batteries, capable of operating safely in any climatic condition without requiring supplemental air conditioning and meant to last for over 20 years with minimal degradation.

Ambri systems also support high-usage applications, such as shifting energy from daytime solar generation to evening and morning peak load times. The company is securing customers for large-scale projects with commercial operation in 2023 and beyond.