The hydrogen desorption properties of Li 2 BNH 6 were improved by doping with cobalt. With the addition of CoCl 2 (7 wt%), more than 8 wt% of hydrogen was released from Li 2 BNH 6 at temperatures below 210°C, which is approximately 90°C lower than that of pristine Li 2 BNH 6 . X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform-infrared and Raman characterizations revealed that the dehydrogenation was a stepwise process with the formation of intermediates Li 4 BN 3 H 10 and LiBH 4 and final products of Li 3 BN 2 and LiH. The introduction of Co greatly accelerated the dehydrogenation of Li 4 BN 3 H 10 . X-ray absorption near-edge structure measurements revealed that Co and CoB species formed during ball milling of CoCl 2 with LiBH 4 and LiNH 2 , which may function as catalyst in the subsequent dehydrogenation.