Novel catalysts for dimethyl ether (DME) steam reforming (SR) were designed based on catalysis database on-demand. A catalyst library consisting of precious metals loaded on various metal oxides was tested for DME SR and its elemental reactions of DME hydrolysis and MeOH SR. Platinum loaded on alumina, Pt/Al2O3, shows high activity for DME SR as reported previously. The drawback of the catalyst was also confirmed; the formation of methane leading to the reduction of hydrogen formation. From the fact database for DME hydrolysis and MeOH SR built up with high-throughput experimentation tools, the high activity of Pt/Al2O3 for DME SR is owing to its high activity on DME hydrolysis because its activity on MeOH steam reforming is not remarkable. Based on these facts, novel catalysts were designed and achieved by physical mixing of Pt/Al2O3 which reveals high activity on DME hydrolysis with an active catalyst on MeOH steam reforming. By mixing of Pt/Al2O3 with Pd/Al2O3, methane formation was suppressed without loss of hydrogen production activity. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.