Mukesh Ambani sets up global dream team for RIL's Rs 60,000-crore renewable energy push.

• KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • RIL's New Energy Council to be chaired by R Mashelkar, National Research Professor and Independent Director at Reliance Industries
  • RIL green council members include Alan Finkel, Rachid Yazami, Robert Armstrong, Martin Green, David Milstein, Geoffrey Maitland, Henrik Stiesdal
  • Mukesh Ambani during RIL's 44th AGM announced Rs 60,000 crore initiative to build renewable energy ecosystem in next 3 years
   

Mumbai: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) roped in eight global experts, many of whom were government consultants, as part of nine new members of New Energy Council, in the conglomerate’s push towards renewable energy. The Council will be chaired by R Mashelkar, RIL National Research Professor and Independent Director. Other members include Alan Finkel, who led Australia's national hydrogen strategy and special adviser on low-emission technologies of the country; Rachid Yazami, winner of the Draper Engineering Award; Robert Armstrong, Director of the MIT Energy Program; and Martin Green known as the ‘father of photovoltaics’ for his contribution in changing the efficiency and cost of solar cells, according to a report in Economic Times. Other members of the council are David Milstein, known for cutting-edge research in water splitting to produce hydrogen, innovative energy storage systems, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS); Geoffrey Maitland, Energy Engineering, Imperial College London Professor, the world's authority on carbon capture and storage technology; Henrik Stiesdal, a pioneer in the modern wind energy industry, who has more than 175 inventions to his credit. Ambani will also become a member. Mashelkar told ET that committee members include not only Ambani but renowned global authorities on solar, wind, CCUS, policy, and green technologies. “These figures are not only crucial in leading India to accelerate the clean energy transition, but also in influencing global energy markets and demand,” he further said. The committee's task is to verify RIL's key technology roadmap plans in order to generate clean energy in a period of 5-15 years. This group will guide technology strategy, help identify opportunities and provide advice on global partnerships of RIL. "Mukesh Ambani's vision is well structured, bold, well funded and powerful," said Finkel. "This is the product of in-depth planning and extreme commitment to sustainable development in India and the world. Its scope is national, but it is much clearer than most countries can express. " During RIL’s 44th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Ambani announced that the company will spend Rs 60,000 crore over the next 3 years to create and offer a fully integrated, end-to-end renewables energy eco-system. As part of the initiative, RIL will develop the ‘Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex’ on a 5,000-acres land area in Jamnagar. It will be amongst the largest such integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world, RIL CMD had said. The complex will house four giga factories to manufacture and integrate all critical components of New Energy ecosystem such as solar photovoltaic module factory, energy storage battery factory, electrolyser factory, fuel cell factory. (Source : Times Now News)