ZnO-supported Ni and Cu as well as bimetallic Co-Ni and Co-Cu catalysts containing ca. 0.7 wt% sodium promoter and prepared by the co-precipitation method were tested in the ethanol steam-reforming reaction at low temperature (523-723 K), using a bioethanol-like mixture diluted in Ar. Monometallic ZnO-supported Cut or Ni samples do not exhibit good catalytic performance in the steam-reforming of ethanol for hydrogen production. Copper catalyst mainly dehydrogenates ethanol to acetaldehyde, whereas nickel catalyst favours ethanol decomposition. However, the addition of Ni to ZnO-supported cobalt has a positive effect both on the production of hydrogen at low temperature (<573 K), and on catalyst stability. Evidence for alloy formation as well as mixed oxides at the microstructural level was found in the bimetallic systems after running the ethanol steam-reforming reaction by HRTEM-EELS. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.