Bioethanol is an attractive fuel for direct internal reforming SOFC (DIR-SOFC). The aim of this work is to investigate the activity of Ni-YSZ, used as precursor for the preparation of SOFC anodes and as catalyst of the ethanol steam reforming reaction. The effect of the addition of cobalt is also studied, as the best performance is given by Ni-Co (25:25)/YSZ catalyst. This achieves total conversion of ethanol around 670 K, at which temperature the H-2 yield is 65%. The addition of Co results in the inhibition of the dehydration reaction as well as of methane production. Furthermore, Co also has an effect on the hydrogen yield, by increasing it and thus apparently favouring methane steam reforming. (C) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.