Reliance Industries' Bold Leap: From Fossil Fuels to Solar Giant

India's Reliance Industries Ltd plans to commission its first solar giga-factory within the current fiscal, targeting net zero carbon emissions by 2035. The firm is set to manufacture photovoltaic modules, cells, wafers, and batteries. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to develop 100 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest company by market value, is set to launch its inaugural solar giga-factory this fiscal year, in a key move to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

According to its latest annual report, the company aims to commission the first train of 20GW solar PV manufacturing by the close of the 2024-25 fiscal year and scale up to 20GW in phases over 2026. The facility will produce photovoltaic modules, cells, wafers, ingots, polysilicon, and glass, all at a single location.

Reliance plans to industrialize sodium-ion cell production by 2025 and start a 50 MWh-a-year lithium battery pilot in 2026. This green drive is also backed by a $10 billion investment announced in 2021 to build four giga-factories for renewable equipment, battery storage, fuel cells, and hydrogen at its Jamnagar complex in Gujarat.

(With inputs from agencies.)