Reliance on a buying spree to achieve its renewable energy goals

In AGM 2022, Ambani said that they would "accelerate" the company's commitment to investing Rs 75,000 crore towards establishing a New Energy manufacturing ecosystem in Jamnagar

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), in the annual general meeting (AGM) 2022, told the investors that the company will establish a 20 GW solar energy plant by 2025 and a 100 GW plant by 2030.

In 2021, RIL had set aside Rs 75,000 crore to pivot towards the renewable energy sector. In AGM 2022, Ambani said they would "accelerate" the company's commitment to investing Rs 75,000 crore towards establishing a New Energy manufacturing ecosystem in Jamnagar.

"We aim to progressively commence transition from Grey Hydrogen to Green Hydrogen by 2025," Ambani said.

However, RIL had already started investing in the renewable energy sector in 2021. Here is a list of the companies it has acquired to take forward the renewable energy vision:

SenseHawk Inc

On Tuesday, RIL announced acquiring a 79.4 per cent stake in the US-based developer of software management tools for solar energy generation, SenseHawk. The deal has reportedly been finalised for $32 million. 

"Sensehawk, along with the other investments of the Company in New Energy, will be synergistic and create unique solutions with higher value to customers," RIL said in a release.

Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd (SWERL)

In February, RIL's subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL) acquired a 10.37 per cent stake in Shapoorji Pallonji Group's SWERL. With this, it now holds a 40 per cent stake in SWERL. The acquisition started in October 2021.

This acquisition is expected to give the company an upper hand in the design, procurement, and project management of renewable energy projects.

Faradion

In December 2021, RNESL bought UK-based battery technology company Faradion Ltd for $135 million. Faradion holds patents on sodium-ion batteries, often described as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

REC Solar Holdings AS

In October 2021, RNESL acquired a 100 per cent stake in the Norway-based REC Solar Holdings AS from China's Bluestar Group. The deal was finalised for $771 million.

REC specialises in making solar panels, photovoltaic cells and modules. Its business is spread across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia-Pacific. 

The company has also formed strategic partnerships with several green energy companies.

"We have formed strategic partnerships with Lithium Werks, Faradion and Ambri, each of them being an industry disruptor with superior chemistry, leading to better performance," Ambani said at the AGM 2022.

In February 2021, RIL sourced the world's first consignment of "carbon-neutral" oil from Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV). OLCV is a division of US oil major Occidental. "This transaction is a first step in the creation of a new market for climate-differentiated crude oil," the company had said in a statement.

These acquisitions signal RIL's move towards a future where fossil fuels may not play as central a role as they do now.