Mg96M2(LiH)(2) (M = Y, Zn, Al, Ag), Mg-98(LiH)(2) and Mg-96(LiH)(4) powder alloys were produced by ball milling and deliberately air-exposed by 12 h in order to investigate their hydrogen storage properties. The addition of LiH at the level of 2 mol% had a beneficial effect on the ldnetics of the hydriding and dehydriding processes at 300 and 350 degrees C compared to mechanically milled and air-exposed Mg powders. However, the additions of Al, Ag, Zn and Y had an opposite effect on the hydriding/dehydriding kinetics. The addition of Al provided a small advantage in the capacity of hydrogen storage among the tested materials. The effects of air-exposure were analyzed, it was demonstrated that among a set of Mg and Mg-alloys heavily oxidized the hydrogen storage is still viable. Copyright (c) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.