There can be little doubt that we face an energy crisis as we reach the end of the fossil fuel era. Whether it comes in twenty years or fifty, there will be an end to affordable petroleum as a vehicular fuel. One of many possibilities being explored today is the use of hydrogen for fuel cells or for combustion. To be affordable, new methods of hydrogen generation must be developed. One method may be the use of microorganisms to convert waste organic matter into hydrogen gas. There are many sources of waste organic matter which could serve as a substrate for this microbial process. They include agricultural residues and other organic wastes such as sewage and manures. One such attractive material may be organic-rich industrial wastewaters, particularly sugar-rich waters, such as fruit and vegetable processing wastes. To investigate this possibility, laboratory-scale continuous flow fixed-film anaerobic bioreactors were inoculated with an enteric bacterial species and were fed diluted grape juice under varying pH conditions. Biogas was produced which contained carbon dioxide and hydrogen, along with undetectable or trace amounts of methane. It was found that the optimum pH for hydrogen production was 5.0 with a hydraulic residence time of about 0.5 days. At this optimum, the observed production of hydrogen from sugar came close to the theoretical stoichiometry of 2 moles of H2 per mole of hexose consumed. The observed consumption of chemical oxygen demand(COD)was about 30%, which corresponds to the theoretical decrease in COD due to hydrogen production. The productivity of this culture, dominated by facultative enteric bacteria, decreased at both lower and higher pH. The reactor operating conditions limited the growth of methanogenic organisms and thus the conversion of hydrogen to methane, even when the influent solution was dosed with methanogens. A pilot-scale experimental system was subsequently designed and installed at the Welch's Grape Juice facility in North East, PA, to evaluate a prototype system under industrial conditions. The bioreactor had a volume of 1000 liters and was operated under a variety of conditions of pH, temperature, and hydraulic residence time. Hydrogen production was quantified via mass flow meters and verified using gas chromatography. Hydrogen production was sustained over more than six months of operation while methane production was controlled and limited. This experience confirmed the ability to maintain a hydrogen-generating culture in an industrial setting over an extended period of time.