Reliance Industries (RIL) said its unit Reliance New Energy would buy a 20 percent stake for $12 million in solar technology developer Caelux to produce low cost solar modules.
Pasadena, California-based Caelux is involved in research and development of perovskite-based solar technology that could see high efficiency solar modules produce 20 percent more energy over the 25-year lifetime of a solar project for a lower installed cost, Reliance said in an exchange filing.
The investment is part of the billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate’s push into the renewable energy sector, with aims of producing 100 GW of solar energy by 2030.
Caelux will be constructing its pilot plant and building a community-based workforce in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area to demonstrate the feasibility of scaling perovskites. Its commercialization roadmap consists of developing production sites across the US, Asia and Latin America.
“We believe Caelux’s perovskite based solar technology provides us with access to next leg of innovation in crystalline solar modules. We will work with team at Caelux to accelerate its product development and commercialization of its technology,” Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, said.
Earlier this month, Reliance said it would acquire a 79.4 percent stake in California-based solar energy software developer SenseHawk for $32 million.