The ignition temperature of a mixture of 40% H-2 in air over Pd (70 degrees C, 1 atm) is similar to 200 degrees C lower than that over a Pt surface (260 degrees C, 1 atm). In addition, Pd foil ignites mixtures (30-60% H-2 + 70-40% CH4)(stoich) + air; Pt foil cannot ignite these up to 450 degrees C. The effective activation energy of ignition over Pd was estimated at similar to 3.5 kcal mol(-1).