Reliance moving ahead on renewable energy commitments

Reliance Industries has outlined in its annual report for FY23 the potential that India will be the first country in the world to produce green hydrogen at less than $1 per kg in the next decade. Terming it “The Green Hydrogen Aspirations”, the company that is a now diversified conglomerate with a presence in a host of B2B and B2C businesses says the belief in hydrogen was stated at the International Climate Summit. 

“The nation has set a goal to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Reliance aims to establish and enable 100 GW of solar energy generation by that date. Intermittent solar energy generation can also produce green hydrogen for local use aligned with the company’s goal of making hydrogen affordable and accessible in India,” the annual report says.  

According to the company, it has consistently sought to fulfil its energy requirements while minimising the environmental impact. “During FY23, renewable energy consumption across its operations saw an increase of 115% year-on-year. The Dahej and Hazira manufacturing units generated 6.1 million GJ (gigajoule) of renewable energy, accounting for over 90% of the total green energy produced in the fiscal year by the company,” it says. Reliance employed, what is called a co-firing strategy that uses biomass “in conjunction with coal at its Dahej and Hazira manufacturing units, to reduce dependence on non-renewable resources.” The O2C (oil to chemicals) business extensively incorporates Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning (ML) based cutting edge digital solutions. This is for the purpose of conserving energy plus the business’ own efforts to develop synthesis gas from renewable sources through biomass gasification. 

Specifically, on new energy, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries’ Chairman & Managing Director, in 2021 announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in the business. That was meant to go into the setting up of giga factories to manufacture components for the ecosystem. “It will make it one of the world’s largest such integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities. Reliance is making significant progress in developing the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex, which spans 5,000 acres in Jamnagar,” the annual report mentions. It says the progress is a reflection of the company’s strategy to establish giga factories to realise its vision for the new energy business. “Reliance is on track to create a fully integrated manufacturing ecosystem, complete with secure and self-sufficient supply chains. The company has invested in and formed partnerships with leading companies in the fields of solar power, batteries and electrolysers. These investments and partnerships will provide Reliance access to unique technology know-how and talent, enabling the Company to drive a disruptive transformation in the New Energy sector globally.”