The 2001 International Conference «Hydrogen Materials Science and Chemistry of Metal Hydrides» (ICHMS'2001) was held in the picturesque town Alushta (Crimea, Ukraine) on the bank of Black Sea in September 16-22, 2001. In the tradition of the earlier ICHMS conferences, the 7th ICHMS'2001 provided an international forum for the presentation and discussion of the latest research on transition to hydrogen-based energy systems, technologies for hydrogen production, storage, utilization, materials, energy and environmental problems. The aim of ICHMS '200 1 was to provide an overview of the latest information on research and development in the different topics cited above. The representatives from industry, public laboratories, universities and governmental agencies could meet, discuss and present the most recent advances in hydrogen concepts, processes and systems, to evaluate current progress in these areas of investigations and to identify promising research directions for the future. The ICHMS'2001 was the first conference in this series, where a related new important topic of considerable current interest on fullerene-related materials as hydrogen storage was included into the conference program. The hydrogen sorbing properties of newly discovered carbon nanostructural materials inspire hydrogen scientists with optimism. Thus, the ICHMS'2001 conference was unique in bringing together hydrogen and carbon materials researchers and engineers from developed countries of Europe and America, new independent states of FSU and other countries for discussions in advanced materials development and applications.