In his opening remarks, Ambani noted that he envisages RIL as one of the world’s top 30 companies in the near future, up from its current position among the world’s top 50 most valuable companies. “With our strategic adoption of deep tech and advanced manufacturing, I can clearly see Reliance earning a place in the top 30 league in the near future,” he said. He added that Reliance has now become a net producer of technology.

In addition, the billionaire expects the new energy business, in the next 5 to 7 years, to aim for an earning capacity similar to RIL’s oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business earnings currently. “We believe that our new energy business will be truly unique—delivering cash flows that are less cyclical and more predictable,” he added.

He also said that digital services, Jio and retail, are expected to double their revenues and Ebitda in the next 3 to 4 years. Ebitda is earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation.

Meeting street expectations, Ambani also spelled out granular timelines for the new energy business.

The under-construction, multi-GW electrolyser manufacturing facility will be ready by 2026, he said. The integrated advanced chemistry-based battery manufacturing facility with a 30 GWh annual capacity, he added, will commence production by the second half of next year.

RIL, Ambani said, will start by assembling battery energy storage systems (BESS) for utility-scale applications and other pack solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, telecom, and mobility markets. “Progressively, over the next few quarters, we will integrate backward to cell manufacturing and eventually to battery chemicals production,” he added.

The billionaire listed 2026 as the year to bring online solar generation projects on a round-the-clock basis (RE-RTC) at GW scale, in a phased manner.

Ambani also expects to use the company’s coastal infrastructure, including 2,000 acres of land at Kandla port, to gain an advantage in the production, storage, evacuation, and shipping of green fuels to various domestic and export markets.

RIL, Ambani said, is also expanding investments in bioenergy to reach 55 operating compressed biogas (CBG) plants by 2025. “Additionally, we have initiated an energy plantation pilot on 1,000 acres of arid wasteland to establish a first-of-its-kind integrated CBG plant,” he added.

The chairman also listed expansions under the oil-to-chemicals business. He said the company is adding capacities across both existing and new chemical value chains, with 1.5 million tonnes (MT) of PVC and CPVC by 2026-27.

Ambani added that the company is also adding a million tonnes of specialty polyester capacity by 2026-27, which will be further integrated backwards with a 3 million tonne PTA capacity by 2027.

Also under construction, Ambani said, is the carbon fibre plant at Hazira. RIL, he added, also plans to further expand its Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) fleet to nine, from the existing six, which are used for sourcing ethane from North America.

First Published: Aug 29 2024 | 4:34 PM IST