An experimental and analytical study of nanocatalyst fabrication and the production of hydrogen utilizing photon energy was carried out. The porous structure of the nanocatalyst provides a high surface to volume ratio of the catalytic layer thereby increasing the activity of the catalyst. An experiment was carried out to obtain an effective nanocatalyst by using pulsed laser ablation (PLA) technology. The properties of the nanocatalyst are directly related to the performance of the catalytic reaction and are analyzed. Experiments and analyses were carried out to evaluate the activity enhancement of the nanocatalyst. Photonic energy provides the heat for the endothermic steam-methanol reforming reaction producing hydrogen. It is shown that photonic induced steam-methanol reforming in a nanocatalyst reformer is feasible and promising. (C) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.