Reliance Industries Ltd announced last week that it will be investing $144 million in U.S. energy storage company Ambri Inc. The Indian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate will be joined by the investors such as Bill Gates as well as the investment management firm Paulson & Co.
Through its Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL) business unit, Reliance will acquire 42.3 million preferred stocks in Ambri, with a monetary sum equalling $50 million.
The investment comes months after Ambri unveiled its plan to become a net carbon zero company by 2035. The $10 billion green energy plan will involve the construction of four ‘giga’ factories in the western Indian state of Gujarat which will focus on producing fuel cells, green hydrogen, and solar cells.
Led by Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia, Ambri builds energy storage systems that eliminate the cost, longevity, and safety barriers faced by lithium-ion batteries.
Ambri revealed in a public statement that it plans to use the investment funds to build large-scale manufacturing plants in the United States that will produce long-duration battery systems to meet local demand. Primarily, these factories will be looking to supply large industrial energy customers such as data centers.
