The present work reports the straightforward preparation of sodium amidoborane NaNH(2)BH(3), an ammonia borane derivative (NH(3)BH(3)). NaNH(2)BH(3) is a promising solid-state hydrogen storage material, known to dehydrogenate in milder conditions than its parent compound. The preparation was made from sodium hydride NaH and NH(3)BH(3) according to three different energy-efficient routes: namely, ball-milling, grinding in a mortar, and simple mixing with a spatula. In each case, NaNH(2)BH(3) was formed. In other words, it has been demonstrated that the solid solid reaction between NaH and NH(3)BH(3) can take place by simple contact of these molecules, owing to the basic character of the former and the acidity of the latter. The as-formed materials dehydrogenate to a high extent at low temperature, with ca. 2 equivalent hydrogen H(2) (NH(3)-free in our conditions) evolving at temperatures up to 95 degrees C. An effective gravimetric hydrogen density of ca. 7.4 wt% was calculated, which may correspond to an effective capacity of 3.7 wt% (assuming the weight of NaNH(2)BH(3) amounts to 50% of the weight of the whole storage system). Such performance confirms the high potential of amidoboranes as hydrogen storage material, especially when compared to NH(3)BH(3). Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.