The catalytic effect of zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4) on the thermal dehydrogenation of NaBH4 has been studied. The ZrCl4 reduced to ZrCl2 and metallic zirconium which exhibit the high catalytic activity during thermal dehydrogenation. The activation energy corresponding to dehydrogenation of NaBH4 is remarkably reduced to 180 kJ/mol in the presence of a catalyst as compared to pure-NaBH4 which was found to be 275 kJ/mol under the similar experimental conditions. The reduced activation energy leads to decreased onset dehydrogenation temperature (<300 degrees C). A substantial amount of sodium remained at the end of the dehydrogenation of catalyzed sample. The low -temperature dehydrogenation of catalyzed NaBH4 could be useful to manage the evaporation of sodium metal. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.