RIL AGM: Reliance Industries Plans To Invest Rs 75,000 Crore In New Energy Business

Having committed to net-zero carbon by 2035, Reliance Industries Ltd. plans to spend Rs 75,000 crore to build an ecosystem to make solar modules and batteries to hydrogen fuel cells in India.

"The world is entering a new energy era, which is going to be highly disruptive. The age of fossil fuels, which powered economic growth globally for nearly three centuries, cannot continue much longer,” Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director at RIL, said during the 44th annual general meeting of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate on Thursday.

The company has started work on developing the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex on 5,000 acres in Jamnagar, Ambani said. “It will be among the largest such integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world."

Under the plan, it will build four giga-factories to make and integrate all critical components of the new energy ecosystem:

• Solar photovoltaic modules.

• Batteries

• Electrolyser

• Fuel cells.

To create this renewables energy eco-system, Reliance targets to spend Rs 60,000 crore in next three years. Separately, it also plans to invest Rs 15,000 crore on value-chain partnerships and future technologies.

RIL, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd. are among Indian businesses that have announced net-zero goals. That comes as companies globally switch to sustainable investments and seek suppliers with similar commitments to curb greenhouse emissions.

Other Highlights From RIL's New Business Plan:

• To enable at least 100 gigawatt of solar energy by 2030.

• To build two additional divisions to strengthen this ecosystem—a dedicated Renewable Energy Project Management and Construction Division, and a dedicated Renewable Energy Project Finance Division.

• Invest in carbon fibre plant for supporting our hydrogen and solar ecosystems.

• To use solar energy to decarbonise O2C business.

• To use green hydrogen—generated from renewable sources—and CO2 as raw materials to develop a road map for new green chemicals, green fertiliser and e-fuels.

• To transform legacy business to net-zero carbon operations.

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