Hydrogen is recognised as a promising alternative to fossil fuel based energy carriers. However storing hydrogen remains the ultimate barrier to its implementation. Complex hydride materials are potential hydrogen stores but their properties require some modifications to meet the targets set for market implementation, i.e. 6 wt % hydrogen capacity and reversible storage under moderate temperatures and pressures (Schlapbach and Z ttel, 2001). To date, several approaches have been considered unsuccessfully, including nanostructuring (Zaluska et al., 2000), destabilisation with other hydrides to improve thermodynamics (Vajo and Olson, 2007a), and the use of catalysts to enhance kinetics (Bogdanovic and Schwickardi, 1997). Theoretical modelling has guided experimental work but synthesising the resulting compounds remains challenging (Grochala and Edwards, 2004). As the properties of nanomaterials are …