Cellulose was mixed with the hydroxides of lithium and nickel and the mixture was milled, followed by heating to produce hydrogen. Several analytical methods of X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry (TG/MS) and gas chromatography (GC) were used to characterize the samples, Hydrogen was emitted when heating the milled sample around 400 degrees C together with low concentrations of methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. It is understood that an interaction occurs between cellulose and lithium hydroxide to convert the carbon of cellulose into lithium carbonate and to emit hydrogen correspondingly. It is also found that nickel catalyst is required to facilitate the interaction and the behaviours of three different nickel compounds were compared. When high yield of hydrogen emission is available, the prepared samples can also serve the purpose of hydrogen storage. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.