A group of Japanese firms led by Itochu have announced they will jointly develop ammonia bunkering infrastructure in their home country.

Itochu, a trading house, is one of the major supporters for Tokyo’s goal in growing annual domestic ammonia fuel consumption in shipping and other sectors to 3m tonnes by 2030 in order to combat climate change.

In a web statement published on Friday, Itochu said it will supply ammonia as marine fuel and develop bunkering sites in Japan with fuel-trading subsidiary Itochu Enex, Ube Industries, and Uyeno Transtech.