State Grid Corp of China announced on Wednesday it will establish a Northeast Asia grid cooperation scheme in collaboration with firms in three neighboring countries, marking the first step in building a framework for a global energy interconnection.

The State Grid has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan-based SoftBank Corp, Russia-based Rosseti and Korea Electric Power Corp in an effort to support the global transformation toward a sustainable and cleaner energy supply.

Liu Zhenya, chairman of the State Grid, expects that with an estimated $50 trillion of investment, the global cross-continent collaboration scheme will bring huge economic and social benefits when it is finally established by the end of 2050.