The feasibility of scaling up the production of a Mg-based hydride as material for solid state hydrogen storage is demonstrated in the present work. Magnesium hydride, added with a Zr-Ni alloy as catalyst, was treated in an attritor-type ball mill, suitable to process a quantity of 0.5-1 kg of material. SEM-EDS examination showed that after milling the catalyst was well distributed among the magnesium hydride crystallites. Thermodynamic and kinetic properties determined by a Sievert's type apparatus showed that the semi-industrial product kept the main properties of the material prepared at the laboratory scale. The maximum amount of stored hydrogen reached values between 5.3 and 5.6 wt% and the hydriding and dehydriding times were of the order of few minutes at about 300 degrees C. (c) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.