Reliance dismisses studies of battery cell plan delay, says 2026 timeline intact

Reliance Industries on January 12 reaffirmed that its plans for battery storage manufacturing stay unchanged and are progressing as per schedule, pushing again towards a number of studies suggesting the corporate had paused lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plans in India.

Responding to hypothesis that the conglomerate had halted its battery cell ambitions after failing to safe Chinese language expertise, a Reliance spokesperson mentioned there had been “no change” within the firm’s technique.

“We wish to categorically affirm that there was no change in our plans for making a world-leading battery storage manufacturing ecosystem from cell to containerised ESS, and they’re progressing effectively in keeping with our goal timelines,” the spokesperson mentioned.

Reliance has earlier indicated that industrial manufacturing of battery cells is focused to start in 2026. Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani reiterated this roadmap in the course of the firm’s annual common assembly in August final yr, stating that the battery giga manufacturing facility would begin operations in 2026 with an preliminary capability of 40 GWh per yr, which will likely be expanded modularly to 100 GWh yearly.

The spokesperson added that updates on Reliance’s new vitality companies, together with battery manufacturing, have been constantly shared throughout quarterly investor calls. The subsequent replace is predicted in the course of the firm’s third-quarter earnings name scheduled for January 16.

“You’ll observe that BESS manufacturing, battery pack manufacturing and cell manufacturing have all the time been a part of our vitality storage plans, and we’re progressing effectively of their execution, as already shared earlier,” the spokesperson mentioned.

Battery Vitality Storage Techniques (BESS) are large-scale techniques that retailer electrical energy for later use and are crucial for grid stability, renewable vitality integration, and backup energy throughout residential, industrial, and utility functions.

Throughout its second-quarter earnings name, Reliance had mentioned it was quickly establishing each its battery and electrolyser giga factories. The corporate reiterated that its battery giga manufacturing facility would begin operations in 2026, whereas the electrolyser giga manufacturing facility is predicted to be operational by the top of 2026, with a scalable capability of as much as 3 GW per yr to help cost-competitive inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing.

In its Q2 investor presentation, Reliance highlighted vital progress on the Dhirubhai Ambani Inexperienced Vitality Giga Advanced in Jamnagar, which spans 5,000 acres. The corporate mentioned engineering for its photo voltaic and battery giga factories has been accomplished, procurement finalised, and tools deliveries are anticipated in 2025.

The presentation additionally famous that Reliance is constructing a 30 GWh superior battery giga manufacturing facility, scheduled for progressive commissioning throughout 2025-26. The power will initially assemble Battery Vitality Storage Techniques earlier than integrating backward into cell manufacturing and battery chemical substances, creating what the corporate describes because the world’s solely totally built-in battery giga manufacturing facility.

Moreover, Reliance plans to operationalise a multi-gigawatt electrolyser facility as a part of its inexperienced hydrogen technique. The corporate has entered right into a expertise licensing settlement with Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, granting Reliance an unique licence to fabricate and use Nel’s alkaline electrolysers in India and for international captive use. Reliance has additionally acquired Nauyaan Shipyard close to Dahej to help electrolyser manufacturing and fabrication.