he activation characteristics of the hydride negative electrode made of M1(NiCoMnTi)5 alloy powder microencapsulated by electroless Ni-P plating has been investigated. The results show that the microencapsulation of the hydrogen storage alloy powder by Ni-P plating increases the discharge capacity of the fabricated electrode, and that the charge- discharge cycling numbers increases in terms o f reaching to the maximum dischargecapacity of the electrode. Furthermore, it is found that a smaller cycling current makes the activation of the hydride negative electrode moreeasy.