Brookfield Asset Management and Reliance Industries, India’s largest private sector enterprise, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for manufacturing renewable energy and decarbonisation equipment in Australia. The aim of this MoU is to accelerate and de-risk Australia’s energy transition by enabling local production of clean energy equipment, including PV modules, long-duration battery storage, and wind energy components.
Under the MoU, Brookfield will collaborate with Reliance to explore direct capital investment and the development of skills, knowledge, and expertise in Australia’s renewable energy sector, facilitating the nation’s transition to a net-zero future. They will assess the establishment of advanced operations in Australia to produce or assemble equipment for renewable energy projects, supplying to various players in the market, including Origin Energy Markets.
This collaboration is part of Brookfield’s efforts to bring global manufacturing technology and expertise to Australia. Additionally, it is currently undergoing the approval process for acquiring Origin Energy as part of its plan to invest between A$20 billion and A$30 billion over the next decade to accelerate the energy transition.
The MoU with Reliance aims to ensure a consistent and sufficient supply of clean energy equipment, supporting the development of up to 14 GW of new, large-scale generation and storage capacity in Australia.
Luke Edwards, Brookfield Renewable Head of Australia, said: “Australia has a proud history of
manufacturing and an abundance of raw materials, but the industry is not currently cost competitive. The energy transition creates an opportunity to bring advanced manufacturing processes created offshore to Australia, which would secure the supply of critical equipment for the transition to help drive down Australia’s emissions faster and contribute significantly to job creation. We want to help kickstart a new era in local manufacturing that will benefit domestic renewables developers, including Origin Energy Markets, and many communities around Australia. We are establishing these types of global partnerships in manufacturing now to allow us to get started as quickly as possible given the ever-reducing timeline for Australia to reach its first emissions-reductions targets in 2030.”
Anant Ambani, Director, Reliance New Energy Limited, said: “At Reliance, we are firmly
committed to the mission of creating a global clean energy ecosystem that is both beneficial to
humanity and compatible with nature. Towards this end, Reliance is pursuing opportunities of
investment in India and globally with great enthusiasm and passion. We are confident that Reliance and Brookfield will explore avenues in green energy in Australia, accelerating the nation’s transition to a Net Zero future and providing a fillip to the global green energy movement.”
Brookfield’s track record in committing long-term capital to support the energy transition, along with its innovative approach to large-scale investments in re-shoring essential manufacturing processes, positions the company well to support these manufacturing initiatives.
