We report a discovery of a new member of the liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) family, 7-ethylindole (7-EID), with a low melting point of -14 degrees C and a decent hydrogen content of 5.23 wt%. Hydrogenation of the compound was carried out over a commercial 5 wt% Ru/Al2O3 catalyst in the H-2 pressure range of 5-8 MPa and a temperature range of 120-160 degrees C, respectively. It was found that the hydrogenation rate positively correlates with the reaction temperature. However, the rate was barely effected by the H2 pressure if the pressure exceeds 6 MPa. The estimated apparent activation energy of 7-EID hydrogenation is 51.5 kJ/mol. The fully hydrogenated product, octahydro-7-ethylindole (8H-7-EID), was used as the reactant for the dehydrogenation reaction at 170-200 degrees C over a 5 wt% Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. Full dehydrogenation of 8H-7-EID to 7-EID can be achieved within 270 min at 190 C. The apparent activation energy of 8H-7-EID dehydrogenation was calculated to be 101.9 kJ/mol at 170-200 degrees C. The liberated H-2 was found to be of high purity, which meets the requirement of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. (C) 2018 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.