Reliance invests US$ 29m in NexWafe, aims to develop 'giga-scale' wafer production in India

• Reliance New Energy Solar (RNES) has invested US$ 29 million in German wafer modern technology business NexWafe's Series C funding round as it looks to develop wafer production facilities in India.

A completely possessed subsidiary of international corporation Reliance Industries, RNES will use its new setting as a strategic financier, which permits it accessibility to NexWafe's modern technology, to develop "giga-scale wafer manufacturing centers in India", according to a NexWafe news releases.

Both firms have gone into an "India Strategic Partnership Agreement" that will certainly see RNES safe accessibility to NexWafe's proprietary modern technology, with strategies to build large-scale sites in India that will certainly use NexWafe procedures as well as modern technology. The agreement also covers joint modern technology advancement and also the commercialisation of NexWafe's "high-efficiency monocrystalline 'environment-friendly solar wafer'".

NexWafe will certainly utilize the money to speed up item as well as technology development, consisting of the commercialisation of its solar PV items on prototype lines in its headquarters in Freiburg, Germany.

It is establishing and also creating monocrystalline silicon wafers utilizing its exclusive procedure that removes "the demand for costly as well as energy extensive intermediate steps such as polysilicon production as well as ingot pulling on which traditional wafer manufacturing counts," according to a media statement.

" NexWafe's unique patented innovation is anticipated to drastically reduce wafer production prices, making solar photovoltaics the lowest-cost form of renewable energy readily available," it added.

" Reliance is well known for its capacity to create high quality products at the most affordable rates, so its dedication to assisting us reshape and transform the silicon wafer will be, our team believe, game-changing for aiding the world release high-efficiency photovoltaics at range," said NexWafe chairman Bart Markus.

" Our investment in NexWafe signals a crucial action in the direction of increasing India's green energy shift as well as positioning India as a worldwide leader in photovoltaic or pv manufacturing," stated Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Asia's wealthiest man. "Our team believe NexWafe's innovative ultra-thin wafer will give solar makers a substantial advantage over existing photovoltaic modern technologies."

The financial investment comes with a crucial time for Indian solar, as well as Reliance in particular. The firm has committed to creating more than 100GW of solar components by 2030 as part of a plan worth US$ 10.1 billion that likewise includes battery storage manufacturing.

In addition, the Indian government, despite weighing modifications to its plan taking into account current supply pressures, is keen to establish a residential production base to test China and ease the market's reliance on Chinese imports, which India's renewables minister called "undesirable".

The Indian government is seeking to do this with a variety of methods, such as its production linked incentive (PLI) plan, which has seen solid rate of interest as 18 bidders submitted 54.8 GW of applications. Reliance, in addition to Adani, are most likely to be the primary beneficiaries of the PLI system, according to consultancy JMK Research & Analytics.

The financial investment from RNES was part of NexWafe's EUR39 million (US$ 45 million) Series C round, which likewise saw investments from InnoEnergy, Lynwood, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures as well as "various other incumbent as well as brand-new financiers".