Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, will acquire 100% shareholding in sodium-ion battery developer Faradion Limited (earlier post) for an enterprise value of £100 million (US$135 million). In addition, RNESL will also invest £25 million (US$34 million) as primary investment as growth capital to accelerate commercial roll out.

Based out of Sheffield and Oxford in the UK, Faradion has a strategic, wide-reaching and extensive IP portfolio covering several aspects of sodium-ion technology.

Faradion’s sodium-ion technology provides advantages compared to alternative battery technologies, especially lithium-ion and lead acid, including:

• Sustainable – There is no dependence and use of cobalt, lithium, copper or graphite. Sodium is the sixth-most abundant element on the planet.

• Patented zero-volt safe transport and storage.

• Low cost – total cost of ownership already comparable to lead-acid with potential for further reductions in costs.

• Scalability – utilises existing lithium-ion manufacturing infrastructure and is already proven with multiple commercial manufacturing partners.

• Performance – energy density on par with lithium-ion phosphate and with wider operating temperature range of -30 °C to +60 °C.

• Fast charge/ discharge capability.

Reliance will use Faradion’s technology at its proposed fully integrated energy storage giga-factory as part of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex project at Jamnagar in western India.

We welcome Faradion and its expierenced team to Reliance family. This will further strengthen and build upon our ambition to create one of the most advanced and integrated New Energy ecosystem 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.

Most importantly, it utilizes sodium, which will secure India’s energy storage requirements for its large renewable energy and fast-growing EV charging market. We will work with Faradion management and accelerate its plans to commercialize the technology through building integrated and end-to-end giga-scale manufacturing in India. We believe this will be one of our many steps that will also enable, accelerate, and secure large scale energy storage requirements for our Indian partners developing and transforming India’s EV mobility and transport sector.

—Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries

As part of this transaction, Halsor Topsoe will divest its shareholding in Faradion (earlier post), corresponding to c. 16% of the fully diluted share capital at the date of completion.

Topsoe has been working with Faradion since 2013 and has in the same period been an active shareholder in the company. As a new owner, Reliance will work with Faradion on commercialization and setting up industrial-scale manufacturing. Topsoe will continue its focus within battery technology based on own lithium-nickel-manganese oxide (LNMO) materials.

Reliance is India’s largest private sector company, with a consolidated turnover of INR 5,392.38 billion ($73.8 billion), cash profit of INR 798.28 billion ($10.9 billion), and net profit of INR 537.39 billion ($7.4 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2021. Reliance’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and digital services.