Reliance New Energy picks up 20% stake in Caelux to shore up its position in advanced solar tech

• Reliance is shoring up advanced green energy technologies as it builds out its Gigafactory for its new energy ecosystem.
  
• The $12 million investment in Caelux Corp will give it access to the company’s perovskite-based solar technology that is said to produce 20% more energy.
  
• Earlier, Reliance entered into partnerships with US, UK and Netherlands-based companies working on advanced green energy technologies.
  

Reliance New Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, picked up a 20% stake in the California-based Caelux Corp, a solar technology company.

Its $12 million investment in Caelux will help speed up the latter’s product and technology development. Reliance says its agreement with the company also includes technical collaboration and commercialization of Caelux’ technology.

“The investment in Caelux aligns with our strategy to create the most advanced green energy manufacturing ecosystem, backed by world class talent, and built on the pillars of technological innovation achieved through strategic partnerships. We believe Caelux’s proprietary perovskite based solar technology provides us with access to the next leg of innovation in crystalline solar modules,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries.

In August, Mukesh Ambani announced a new Gigafactory for power electronics, wherein it will manufacture photovoltaic panels, and energy storage solutions like battery packs, apart from other things.

Caelux is an industry leader in the research and development of perovskite-based solar technology. Perovskite is a semiconductor that is used to transport electric charge, and researchers have found out that it can be used as a replacement for thin-film solar cells.

According to the press release, Caelux’ technology can produce 20% more energy over the 25-year lifetime of a solar project, and it can be deployed at a lower cost.


“Through the partnership with Reliance, we will accelerate our efforts to build out our manufacturing capabilities to produce products that make crystalline solar modules more efficient and cost effective,” said Scott Graybeal, CEO of Caelux Corp.

Doing a ‘Jio’ with green energy

Mukesh Ambani’s fortunes – and Reliance’ – are built on crude oil refining, but now that green energy is the future, he is gearing up to pull a Jio in this sector as well by making it affordable.

So far, towards its green energy goals, Reliance has already inked partnerships with several global players, including Ambri in the US, Faradion in the UK and Lithium Werks in the Netherlands, each offering expertise in energy storage.

Reliance is also eyeing a piece of the pie in the green hydrogen space, teaming up with the US-based Chart Industries to commercialize hydrogen technology and set up a supply chain.

It has also partnered with Denmark’s Stiesdal A/S for its next-gen electrolyser technology to reduce the cost of producing hydrogen from water.

So far, Reliance has committed $10 billion in capex for green energy, and analysts at UBS suggest the company will need an additional capex of $26 billion by the end of this decade.

Those investments will add $35 billion value to the company, according to UBS, which also notes that new energy is a $20 trillion opportunity. It notes that green energy will be the new “growth engine” of Reliance going forward.