Reliance New Energy acquires sodium-ion battery maker Faradion

Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd., a subsidiary of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd., has acquired 100% of UK-based Faradion Ltd., a leading global sodium-ion battery technology company, for an enterprise value of $136 million (GBP 25m). Reliance will also invest an additional $34 million as growth capital to accelerate Faradion’s commercial rollout.

Faradion’s sodium-ion technology offers several potential advantages over lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, including sustainability, low cost, scalability, and performance. Reliance plans to leverage Faradion’s technology at its proposed energy storage gigafactory as part of its Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex project in Jamnagar, India.

The acquisition strengthens Reliance’s ambition to build a comprehensive new energy ecosystem and position India at the forefront of battery technologies.

Speaking about the acquisition, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, said, “We welcome Faradion and its experienced team to Reliance family. This will further strengthen and build upon our ambition to create one of the most advanced and integrated New Energy ecosystem and put India at the forefront of leading battery technologies. The sodium-ion technology developed by Faradion provides a globally leading energy storage and battery solution which is safe, sustainable, provides high energy density and is significantly cost competitive. In addition, it has wide use applications from mobility to grid scale storage and back-up power.”

“Most importantly, it utilizes sodium, which will secure India’s energy storage requirements for its large renewable energy and fast-growing EV charging market. We will work with Faradion management and accelerate its plans to commercialise the technology through building integrated and end-to-end giga scale manufacturing in India. We believe this will be one of our many steps that will also enable, accelerate, and secure large scale energy storage requirements for our Indian partners developing and transforming India’s EV mobility and transport sector.”

James Quinn, CEO of Faradion, said, “Faradion has been one of the first to champion sodium-ion battery technology. Reliance is the perfect partner for supporting Faradion’s growth in the rapidly expanding Indian market and to jointly speed up the transformation of the global energy market. Becoming part of the Reliance group validates the incredible work our team has done in advancing sodium-ion technology. Together with Reliance, Faradion can bring British innovation to India and globally, as the world increasingly looks beyond lithium. We look forward to being part of India’s Net Zero mission.”

Dr. Chris Wright, Chairman and Co-Founder Faradion, said, “Dr Jerry Barker, Ashwin Kumaraswamy and I founded Faradion in 2010 to develop sodium-ion technology and bring it to market, with funds from Mercia Asset Management. This deal with Reliance firmly establishes Faradion’s sodium-ion batteries as an integral part of the global value chain for cheaper, cleaner, more sustainable energy for decades to come.