Overview
- Reliance’s licensing discussions with Xiamen Hithium ended after the Chinese firm withdrew due to Beijing’s tighter technology-transfer controls.
- The company has shifted near-term execution to assembling battery energy storage systems for its own renewable power projects.
- A Reliance spokesperson said there is no change to its broader energy storage roadmap, which still includes cell manufacturing.
- Internal assessments found that proceeding without Chinese cell know-how would raise costs and risks, with Japanese, Korean and European options viewed as less competitive.
- Delays under India’s PLI scheme and similar pivots by Adani and JSW underscore sector-wide hurdles to localising advanced cell production.