Reliance Industries said that its fully-owned subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar (RNESL) has signed a £100 million deal to acquire Faradion, a British sodium-ion battery technology company.

Additionally, Reliance New Energy Solar will invest £25 million as growth capital in Faradion to accelerate the commercial launch of the latter’s sodium-ion battery solutions.

Faradion, which is dually headquartered in Sheffield and Oxford, has an intellectual property (IP) portfolio spanning multiple aspects of sodium-ion technology. Its battery technology can be applied in energy storage, mobility, backup power, and energy in remote locations.

Mukesh Ambani — Chairman of Reliance Industries said: “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 utilises 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 commercialise the technology through building integrated and end-to-end giga scale manufacturing in India.”

Reliance Industries intends to utilize the sodium-ion battery technology company of Faradion at its planned energy storage giga-factory at the Dhirubhai Ambani green energy giga complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

James Quinn — CEO of Faradion said: “Faradion has been one of the first to champion sodium-ion battery technology. Reliance is the perfect partner for supporting Faradion’s growth in the rapidly expanding Indian market and to jointly speed up the transformation of the global energy market. Becoming part of the Reliance group validates the incredible work our team has done in advancing sodium-ion technology.

“Together with Reliance, Faradion can bring British innovation to India and globally, as the world increasingly looks beyond lithium. We look forward to being part of India’s Net Zero mission.”

The deal with Faradion follows Reliance Industries’ $771 million acquisition of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar Group.

  Faradion, India, James Quinn, Mukesh Ambani, Oxford, Reliance Industries, Reliance Industries Limited, Reliance New Energy Solar, Reliance New Energy Solar Limited, RNESL, Sheffield, United Kingdom