JINAN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese energy giant Yankuang Group signed a cooperation framework agreement with French energy company Air Liquide on Friday to jointly promote hydrogen energy.

The two sides agreed to jointly make plans on the development of hydrogen energy infrastructure and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in east China's Shandong Province and to build a sustainable hydrogen energy infrastructure network, according to the framework agreement signed in Jinan, Shandong provincial capital.

Yankuang Group is a state-owned energy enterprise with coal and chemical as its leading businesses, ranking 399 on the 2018 Fortune Global 500. Air Liquide is one of the world's largest commercial industrial gas supplier with relevant technology and operation experience in the hydrogen energy industry.

Yankuang plans to build a supply-end industrial system including production, purification, storage and transportation of hydrogen energy, said Li Xiyong, chairman of Yankuang Group.

Shandong, China's leading province in the coal chemical industry, boasts rich hydrogen resources. About 962,000 tonnes of hydrogen can be recycled from Shandong's industrial exhaust gas annually, which can power 115,000 hydrogen-powered buses for a year, according to the provincial development and reform commission.