Our algae to biocrude and biochemicals effort aims at establishing a green platform that harnesses natural resources, such as freely available sunlight, sea water, carbon dioxide and low cost nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) to produce abundant quantities of biomass that can be converted to biocrude and biochemicals. Research efforts on algae are focused on physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genomics, and development of process technologies for algae cultivation, harvesting, and water management as well as processing technologies for converting biomass to biocrude and biochemicals.

Reliance has developed a catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (RCAT-HTL) process, which converts any biomass and organic waste into “drop-in” energy-dense renewable crude. The process is feed flexible – it can process dry as well as wet waste. There is no need to dry the wet waste. The process recovers water as well as nutrients. Reliance has also developed some of the world’s most innovative algae cultivation systems. The company is exploring multidisciplinary biology and engineering streams to create a safe and sustainable source of biofuels, biochemicals, and nutritional products as food and feed.

Reliance considers carbon dioxide an asset, not a liability. In pursuit of a sustainable and low-emission future, Reliance has developed a technology called Energy Integrated Circulating Fluidized Bed Process for CO₂ capture. This is an adsorption-based process that follows carbonate-bicarbonate chemistry.

RIL is currently engaged with converting CO₂ into environmentally benign, organic carbonate using the non-reductive route. Reliance is converting CO₂, along with other co-reactants such as H₂S and H₂, into chemical products that are industrially useful at significant scale, using the reductive route.

Reliance’s Aluminium chloride (AlCl₃) based ionic liquid catalysts are fifty times less expensive than competitive ionic liquid products. These catalysts are more benign, reusable, recyclable, and they can be made at scale. They are highly effective replacements for toxic hazardous acids such as hydrofluoric acid or sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Reliance is developing a breakthrough safer and environmentally-friendly process for manufacturing linear alkyl benzenes using these ionic liquid catalysts. This platform technology has the potential to lead Reliance to many other breakthrough processes.

Reliance, REC, and Caelux are jointly working together to industrialize perovskite-silicon tandem solar technology. As the silicon solar cell technology approaches its theoretical efficiency limit (the Shockley-Queisser limit), there is a need for continuous efficiency improvements.  These efficiency improvements are among the major drivers of cost reduction for clean electricity.  The efficiency barrier of silicon solar cells can be overcome by using two or more solar cells in tandem. Perovskite materials offer an attractive proposition for the second solar cell in addition to the first silicon solar cell. Reliance, REC (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance), and Caelux are bringing their respective know-hows to a common collaborative platform to accelerate the development of perovskite-silicon tandem solar technology, thus helping drive efficiencies and cost reduction to clean energy.

Reliance has developed multi-zone catalytic cracking (MCC) technology. In this thermo-neutral process, a wide range of feedstock is converted to high-value propylene and ethylene in a single riser using novel cracking catalysts in combination with multi-feed injections at various points on the riser. This is done in a sequential manner depending on feedstock crackability. MCC includes proprietary reactor design, catalyst formulation (at least 3 components) and process integration to maximize petrochemicals from crude and low value refinery hydrocarbon streams. Its petrochemicals yields are >70% with no liquid fuel.

Reliance has developed biodegradable polymers for packaging applications. These biodegradable polymers are at par with conventional packaging polymers and will reduce plastic waste generation, thus helping curb adverse environmental impact.

Reliance Disentangled Polyethylene (DPE) is an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene synthesized with significantly high crystallinity compared to conventional polyethylene.  The high polymer crystallinity is made possible by a new, proprietary, single-site catalyst that produces polymer chains in a highly regular fashion.

Reliance has developed First Generation RELCAT™10X for homo, random and ICP grades of the gas-phase polymerization process. This was followed by a further improvement in product performance and operational efficiency by commercialising our proprietary 2^nd Gen RELCAT™10X/RELD™ and 3^rd Gen morphological RELCAT™100Y/RELD™ Catalyst technologies.

Current commercialization efforts are in progress to shift to 4^th generation shape- and size-controlled RELCAT™200Y/RELD™ and RELCAT™300Y/RELD™ technologies for high-performance polypropylene grades.

Reliance and NexWafe are working towards manufacturing thinner silicon wafers with a lower carbon footprint. Traditional crystalline silicon wafers are extremely energy intensive and result in 30% loss of material (kerf loss) during the manufacturing process. Reliance’s innovative heterojunction (HJT) solar cell technology performs better with thinner wafers approaching 100 microns. NexWafe has pioneered a novel and direct method of manufacturing thin kerf-less wafers at 50% less energy consumption compared to standard wafers available today.

Reliance produces syngas from the coal gasification units at Jamnagar. Besides being used as energy feedstock, additional valorisation of syngas is possible by converting it to chemicals / biochemicals via chemistry and fermentation. Using synthetic biology approaches, Reliance has designed novel biochemical pathways to produce various chemicals in syngas utilising bacteria. Novel state-of-the art capabilities have been built in the metabolic engineering area. Reliance is also developing various catalysts and processes to convert syngas into value-added products using the chemical route.

Global lifestyle changes have triggered demand for sustainable and eco-friendly materials and ingredients. Reliance’s capabilities in algal technology and Synthetic Biology have tremendous potential to address this demand by developing bio-processes for next-generation biomaterials, biochemicals, and biopolymers. These materials can be produced in the least detrimental way and may in fact help reverse greenhouse gas emissions in the future. Novel biomaterials, such as nanocellulose, non-animal leather, and spider silk and their composites have the potential to meet the vast needs of the biomedical, wound-care and personal care markets.

Algal biomass is a rich source of small molecules and polymers with potential in food and feed applications. Algal protein production is 30 times higher than any other conventional crop, making it the best source of essential amino acids compared to conventionally available protein. Reliance R&D has developed the most productive, robust and scalable year-round algal cultivation and downstream technologies, through which we aim to offer the best sustainable algal alternatives for conventional food and feed ingredients.