In order to recover the released heat of Al-H2O reaction and promote the reaction itself, the hydrogen production processes of aluminum with lithium addition in molten state are investigated. Experiments are conducted by both a thermogravimetric analyzer and a special experimental facility at high temperature. The results on both apparatuses show that the addition of Li can promote the reactivity of aluminum with water. Compared with pure aluminum, only 5% of Li content can achieve a great improvement: the H-2 yield increases from 8.7% to 53% and the average H-2 generation rate from 15 to 112 mL min(-1) g(-1). With the increase of Li content, H-2 yield is improved distinctly and the period with a high H-2 generation rate is prolonged. In the Al-20%Li case, the H-2 yield of 88% is obtained, and it appears a stable period in which the H-2 generation rate keeps high. When adding lithium, LiAlO2 appears in the products and the products are made of columnar crystals. The pores with an average size of 17-33 nm in the LiAlO2 products are manyfold bigger than the pores of alumina, which takes an important role in improving the reactivity of aluminum and water. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.