Japan and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement on Thursday to work together to produce hydrogen technology and establish an international supply chain.

This cooperation is marked by a memorandum of understanding between the oil-producing UAE and the energy-importing country Japan. This reflects people’s growing enthusiasm for investing in hydrogen, which offers potential to address climate change.

The Japanese government set a goal in December to increase its annual hydrogen demand from approximately 2 million tons today to 3 million tons by 2030, and to 20 million tons by 2050, as part of the green growth strategy, by 2050. Thursday’s agreement to achieve net-zero carbon emissions is for Japan to import hydrogen produced in the United Arab Emirates. Hydrogen can be produced from fossil fuels, but its emissions can be captured and used in industry.

The two countries will also cooperate to increase the UAE’s demand for hydrogen. Hydrogen is primarily extracted from the production of natural gas or coal and has been used in a variety of applications, from rocket fuel to fertilizer production, but as the government strives to combat climate change, the goal is to change to emission-free green hydrogen produced from renewable sources.