Reliance Industries Denies Battery Cell Production Halt in India

Reliance Industries Ltd. on Monday dismissed reports of any change to its battery manufacturing ambitions in the country, maintaining that its plans to create a "world leading battery storage manufacturing ecosystem from cell to containerised ESS" are progressing according to schedule, even as a Bloomberg report suggested the company has hit obstacles in obtaining Chinese technology.

"We would like to categorically affirm that there has been no change in our plans for creating a world leading battery storage manufacturing ecosystem from cell to containerised ESS and they are progressing well in line with our target timelines," The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate told ACKO Drive in a statement.

"You will note that BESS manufacturing, battery pack manufacturing and cell manufacturing have always been part of our energy storage plans," the firm added.

The Bloomberg report said the firm, which had aimed to begin cell manufacturing this year, had been in discussions with a Chinese lithium iron phosphate supplier Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology Co. to license cell technology, citing people who did not want to be identified as the information is not public.

According to the Bloomberg report, China has stepped up scrutiny of clean-energy technology deals as it seeks to protect strategic advantages in sectors, complicating localisation efforts by foreign manufacturers.

Gigafactory Timeline

In August 2025, Mukesh Ambani told shareholders that Reliance's battery gigafactory will start in 2026. 

The conglomerate, during its AGM in August last year, had spoken about its battery manufacturing roadmap. It had said that its battery giga factory will start in 2026, and that it will begin with 40 GWh per year capacity and expand modularly to 100 GWh per year.

The richest person in Asia had announced four gigafactories in 2021 as part of a $10 billion investment push to pivot away from the empire's fossil-fuel origins.

Adani Group and JSW Group -- both have laid out aggressive clean-energy expansion plans and are scouting for lithium-ion cell technologies -- are also focusing on battery pack and container assembly rather than full-fledged cell manufacturing, according to other people familiar with their strategies.