Reliance to befriend start-ups as it pursues new energy strategy

Indian giant’s 15-year plan envisages a mix of affordable power

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has a 15-year vision to build itself as a new energy company that aims to recycle CO2 emissions, create value from plastic waste and has an optimal mix of clean and affordable energy, analysts said.

While the conglomerate has in recent times seen focus on consumer business, RIL’s core oil-to-chemical (O2C) business is well placed to generate sustained free cash flow, Bank of America Securities said in a report.

“Until demand normalises, RIL is looking to maximise throughput, focus on cost by leveraging deep petrochemical integration and continue to focus on domestic fuel marketing,” it said. “RIL has a 15-year vision to build itself as one of the world’s leading new energy and new material companies. It also intends to be a net carbon zero company by 2035. To achieve this, the company is open to work with global financial investors, reputed technology partners and start-ups,” it said.

Carbon recycling

This new energy business based on the principle of carbon recycling and circular economy is a multi-trillion opportunity for India and the world. The brokerage said a key focus for RIL is renewable energy, and for that it intends to build an optimal mix of clean and affordable energy.

“It intends to use proprietary technology, recycle CO2, create value from plastic waste; RIL is also looking to make its operations cleaner and more customer-centric,” it said.