Hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) is a promising method for on-board hydrogen supply to polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). This article presents an attempt to design a novel solid-state NaBH4 composite, which is made up of NaBH4 powder, Co2+/IR-120 catalyst and silicone rubber, for hydrogen generator. The silicone rubber can act as a stabilizer in the solid-state NaBH4 composite because of its surface hydrophobicity leading to reduced diffusion rate of water into the composite. The solid-state NaBH4 composite can produce hydrogen stably near 25 mL min(-1) for at least 2 h without employment of any mechanical control system. Using the hydrogen generated from the solid-state NaBH4 composite, a 2W PEMFC stack is successfully operated to power a cellular phone. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.