Mutagenesis of Escherichia coli for hydrogen production is difficult since there is no high-throughput screen. Here we describe a method for rapid detection of enhanced hydrogen production by engineered strains by detecting formate via potassium permanganate; in E. coli, hydrogen is synthesized from formate using the formate hydrogen lyase system. (c) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.