Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) announced today plans by its subsidiary MUFG Bank to launch a renewable energy fund, aiming to participate in the growth of the renewable energy market in Japan.

MUFG Bank has established a new company, Z Energy Co., Ltd, with a group of eight partner companies to establish and operate the Renewable Energy Fund. The partners who will become shareholders will invest in the new company and will contribute their expertise and networks to operate the Fund together with MUFG Bank. Core partners, responsible for overseeing the entirety of the fund include MUFG Bank, NTT Anode Energy Corporation, and Osaka Gas Co.

The growth of renewable energy capacity represents a major opportunity for investors over the next several years. Japan’s proposed new energy strategy, released in July, targets a significant increase in the share of renewable energy to 36%-38% within the country’s energy mix by 2030, compared to less than 20% today. Renewable energy is anticipated to replace the declining share of fossil-fuel-based power, which currently accounts for 75% of Japan’s energy mix, as the country pursues its recently launched emissions reduction goals, which include cutting emissions by 46% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The bank stated that through operating the new Fund, MUFG and its partners will contribute to the popularization of renewable energy by generating renewable energy and retailing and using renewable energy through an integrated approach based on demand for renewable energy at MUFG, its partners, and other stakeholders.