Reliance Industries plans to establish the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Gujarat as one of the world's most extensive integrated renewable energy facilities, featuring five giga factories for photovoltaic panels, fuel cell systems, green hydrogen, energy storage, and power electronics
In a recent earnings statement and investor call, Reliance Industries Ltd., led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, announced its plans to commission a new energy giga complex in Gujarat during the second half of 2024.
The sprawling 5,000-acre complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat, comprises five gigafactories focusing on photovoltaic panels, fuel cell systems, green hydrogen, energy storage, and power electronics.
In a post-third-quarter earnings call, Ambani confirmed that the New Energy Giga Complex is on track for commissioning in the latter half of the calendar year 2024. He expressed confidence in Reliance's New Energy business, which is pivotal in the global shift towards cleaner fuels.
The Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex is poised to become one of the most extensive integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities. Reliance has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to establish 100 gigawatts of renewable power, with a capex of Rs 5 lakh crore. The company has secured in-principle approval for 74,750 hectares of land parcels dedicated to green hydrogen production in Kutch.
Reliance strategically invested in ten global technology innovators with expertise across the new energy value chain. The company is nearing the commissioning of the first tranche of a 5GW module manufacturing capacity by mid-2024, according to a note from Nuvama on January 17.
Through REC Solar, Reliance has secured a supply agreement with Suzhou Maxwell Technologies in China for a high-efficiency production line for HJT cells with a capacity of 4.8 GW. Additionally, the company signed a 5.2 GW HJT module automation production agreement with SC Solar in January 2023.
Reliance has successfully won Production-Linked Incentives (PLIs) in both rounds for solar modules (Round 1: USD 0.3 billion, 4 GW; Round 2: USD 0.4 billion, 6 GW). Notably, Reliance and Greenko are the only companies to receive incentives for green hydrogen and electrolysers.
The company has also secured PLIs under ACC battery storage for a 5 GW capacity, which is expected to contribute to achieving a green hydrogen cost of USD 1–1.5 per kg. This transition to green hydrogen is anticipated to improve margins, considering Reliance's significant role as the largest producer and consumer of grey hydrogen.
Currently, the cost of green hydrogen is around USD 3 per kg, 1.5 times higher than grey hydrogen produced from natural gas, primarily due to the high costs associated with solar and wind energy generation and electrolyser expenses. A hybrid approach involving solar and wind energy remains the most cost-effective method for generating green hydrogen, with solar being the costliest due to the lower Plant Load Factor (PLF) of electrolysers.