Abstract Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of hydroxymethylfurfural was investigated in a three-phase batch reactor over a range of reaction temperatures (170–230 °C), under 5 MPa of hydrogen, and tetrahydrofuran solvent. Nickel-based carbon-supported catalysts were also promoted by lanthanum and niobium, despite promoters alone demonstrated no activity. Based on experimentally-obtained liquid products, a reaction pathway was proposed and a microkinetic model was established, by considering adsorption, desorption and surface reaction kinetics, mass transfer and thermodynamics. An unpromoted Ni/C resulted in primarily unsaturated furan diol, a highly desirable intermediate in the polymer industry. As reaction temperatures increased > 200 °C, dehydration yielded deoxygenated products suitable for solvents and biofuel. In spite of enhancements to reducibility, La-promotion significantly decreased both hydrogenation (8-times) and deoxygenation (25-times) rate constants. Alternatively, Nb-incorporation offered additional acidity, while lower activation energies resulted in 200% higher deoxygenation rates via dehydration reactions and humin formation at lower temperatures. It exhibited the highest deoxygenation activity.