This study examined the effects of advanced bimetallic catalytic species of Ni and Mo on hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming. NixMoy/SBA-15 exhibited significantly higher ethanol steam-reforming activity at mild temperatures than monometallic Ni/SBA-15; the highest activity was achieved using the Ni0.95Mo0.05/SBA-15 catalyst. H-2 production and ethanol conversion were maximized at 70-87% and 90-92%, respectively, over the temperature range of 500 to 800 degrees C with an EtOH:H2O ratio of 1:3 and a gas hourly space velocity of 3000h(-1). This highlights the synergy between the Ni and Mo loading on SBA-15 during ethanol steam reforming through the inhibition of Ni particle agglomeration and the consequent decrease in catalytic deactivation. In the proposed mechanism for ethanol steam reforming, Mo oxide promotes CH4-steam reforming at lower temperatures and depresses the CO-water gas shift reaction. Overall, hydrogen production is significantly higher over NixMoy/SBA-15 than over monometallic Ni/SBA-15 despite the evolution of CO gas. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.