WUHAN, July 26 -- China's Dongfeng Automobile became the lastest domestic carmaker to enter the hydrogen energy market via industrial partnerships.

Dongfeng has inked a strategic cooperation agreement with Hubei Province's Xiangyang city, SPIC Central Research Institute and the Wuhan University of Technology over hydrogen equipment development and manufacturing, as well as application and promotion of hydrogen energy in transport, the company announced Thursday.

The four parties will develop and promote new vehicles run on hydrogen fuel cells and facilitate application of hydrogen power and fuel cells in buses, logistics and other fields.

Joint efforts will also go to the green hydrogen production, stock and transportation.

Dongfeng's foray into the hydrogen energy market came after several other counterparts including SAIC and Great Wall Motors set sight on the growth potential of the new energy.

Hydrogen energy is expected to make up at least 10 percent of the country's terminal energy mix by 2050, with about 1.6 million commercial vehicles to run on hydrogen fuel, the National Alliance of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell predicted.