The catalytic performance of supported noble metal catalysts for the steam reforming (SR) of ethanol has been investigated in the temperature range of 600-850 degreesC with respect to the nature of the active metallic phase (Rh, Ru, Pt, Pd), the nature of the support (Al2O3, MgO, TiO2) and the metal loading (0-5 wt.%). It is found that for low-loaded catalysts, Rh is significantly more active and selective toward hydrogen formation compared to Ru, Pt and Pd, which show a similar behavior. The catalytic performance of Rh and, particularly, Ru is significantly improved with increasing metal loading, leading to higher ethanol conversions and hydrogen selectivities at given reaction temperatures. The catalytic activity and selectivity of high-loaded Ru catalysts is comparable to that of Rh and, therefore, ruthenium was further investigated as a less costly alternative. It was found that, under certain reaction conditions, the 5% Ru/Al2O3 catalyst is able to completely convert ethanol with selectivities toward hydrogen above 95%, the only byproduct being methane. Long-term tests conducted under severe conditions showed that the catalyst is acceptably stable and could be a good candidate for the production of hydrogen by steam reforming of ethanol for fuel cell applications. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.