Reliance to invest in US clean energy storage firm
PremiumReliance Industries clean energy unit will invest $50 million in American renewable energy storage company Ambri amid attempts to develop cheap alternatives to lithium-ion battery cells
MUMBAI : Reliance Industries Ltd’s clean energy unit will invest $50 million in American renewable energy storage company Ambri Inc. amid attempts to develop cheap alternatives to lithium-ion battery cells.
The move by Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd came a month after RIL announced plans to build a giga factory in Jamnagar for storing intermittent energy. The investment is part of a $144 million fundraising by Ambri from strategic investors, including Paulson and Co. Inc. and Bill Gates, Reliance New Energy said.
Ambri, founded in 2010, has developed a liquid metal grid battery technology and is looking to commercialize it by 2022. Ambri can help lower costs by about half, compared with lithium-ion batteries.
Reliance New Energy is also in talks with Ambri for an exclusive collaboration to set up a large-scale liquid metal grid battery manufacturing facility in India.
Ambri-based systems generate their own heat during use, thereby eliminating the need for auxiliary power for temperature control. These battery systems operate at maximum performance at 500 degrees Celsius.
“These systems like to be used. A full charge/discharge cycle at least every two days will keep the system at its operating temperature, and higher duty cycles will not increase degradation," said Morgan Stanley Research in a report.
Addressing shareholders in June this year, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani announced plans to build a Giga Factory in Jamnagar for storing solar energy as part of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex project.
“We are exploring new and advanced electrochemical 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," Ambani said.
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Ambri has the technology to build energy storage systems that last 4-24 hours and can cater to projects that require energy storage systems from 10MWh to over 2GWh.
The company will manufacture calcium and antimony electrode-based cells and containerized systems that are more economical than lithium-ion batteries and are capable of operating safely in any climatic condition without requiring supplemental air conditioning. These batteries can last for over 20 years with minimal degradation.
The development comes amid an attempt by India to find alternatives to lithium-ion battery cells and reduce its dependence on China. These cells are used in electric vehicles, which is a major Indian focus amid efforts to cut harmful fossil fuels.
Reliance New Energy said that Ambri systems are particularly suited to high-usage applications such as shifting energy from daytime solar generation to evening and morning peak load times.
“Ambri’s long-duration energy storage systems will enable a crucial energy storage solution capable of supporting the increasing amounts of renewable energy being integrated into electric power grids," Reliance New Energy said.
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