Detailed knowledge of the adhesion of metal films to polymer or metal substrates is required in daily application as well as in fundamental research. However, the determination of the relevant adhesion energies is difficult. So-called scotch tape tests or scratching tests only give approximate values. We present a new technique to quantitatively determine the adhesion energy between two materials by hydrogen loading. Hydrogen loading results in in-plane stress between the film and its substrate which results, by crossing a critical stress, in local film detachment and buckling. The critical stress depends on the material as well as on the film thickness. It can be used as a measure for the adhesion energy between the film and the substrate. A simple model will be presented to calculate the adhesion energy from critical stress data. Adhesion energies γ=0.2 and =0.1 J/m 2 are obtained for the Pd/polycarbonate and the Cr-oxide/polycarbonate interface, respectively.