Reliance New Energy Buys Lithium Werks Assets to Expand Battery Manufacturing in India

Mumbai, India – Reliance New Energy Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, recently signed definitive agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Lithium Werks BV for a total transaction value of US$ 61 million, including funding for future growth, to further strengthen its cell chemistry technology leadership and accelerate the setting up of multi-gigawatt-hour scale battery manufacturing in India. The assets include Lithium Werks’ entire patent portfolio, a manufacturing facility in China, major business contracts, and the hiring of existing employees as a going concern.

Lithium Werks was founded in 2017 through the acquisition of certain assets of Valence and A123 industrial division. The management team brings over 30 years of battery expertise and nearly 200 MWh of annual production capacity, including coating, cell, and custom module manufacturing capability. Lithium Werks is a market leader in cobalt-free, high-performance Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries. With the current spike in demand for LFP batteries, Lithium Werks is well positioned to capitalize on the global prospects presented by its complete array of LFP solutions.

The combination of Lithium Werks and Reliance’s recently announced acquisition of Faradion Ltd, a global leader in sodium-ion cell chemistry, reinforces Reliance’s technology portfolio and gives it access to one of the world’s leading portfolios of LFP patents, as well as a management team with extensive experience in cell chemistry, custom modules, packing, and building large scale battery manufacturing facilities.

Reliance will use the experience of these senior management teams, as well as the technology and know-how acquired through the acquisition of both companies, to build an end-to-end battery ecosystem. It will enable Reliance to deliver not only large-scale manufacturing of key supply chain materials such as cathode, anode, and electrolyte, but also a cell manufacturing facility with leading IOT/AI capabilities, allowing Reliance to produce batteries and battery module systems containing different chemistries for various applications in energy storage and mobility.

Reiterating that both companies will help Reliance accelerate its vision of establishing India at the forefront of global battery chemistries and provide a secure, safe, and high-performance supply chain to India’s large and growing EV and Energy Storage markets, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Limited, commented, “LFP is fast gaining as one of the leading cell chemistries due to its cobalt and nickel-free batteries, low cost, and longer life compared to NMC and other chemistries. Lithium Werks is one of the leading LFP cell manufacturing companies globally and has a vast patent portfolio and a management team which brings tremendous experience of innovation across the LFP value chain. We are looking forward to working with the Lithium Werks team and are excited about the pace at which we are progressing towards establishing an end-to-end battery manufacturing and supply ecosystem for India markets.”

Against this backdrop, Joe Fisher, Co-Founder and CEO, Lithium Werks, said, “We are pleased to become a part of the Reliance New Energy initiative. This deal means increased resources and expanded global reach, while leveraging our experienced team and IP portfolio and providing scale and momentum to help drive our product innovation, capacity expansion, and accelerate our clean energy strategy.”

To this, Christian P Ringvold, Co-Founder, Lithium Werks, added, “Reliance is committed to sustainable development and understands the importance of batteries in the transition to a fossil-free future. The company’s strong values, solid track record, and high ambitions make me confident that this is the right way forward for Lithium Werks. I am very excited to continue on this journey with Reliance.”

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