Abstract: A direct formate fuel cell (DFFC) employs at least one formate salt as the anode fuel, either air or oxygen as the oxidant, a polymer anion exchange membrane (AEM) to separate the anode and cathode, and metal catalysts at the anode and cathode. One exemplary embodiment consists of palladium nanoparticle anode catalyst and platinum nanoparticle cathode catalyst, each applied to the alkaline AEM in the form of a thin film. Operation of the DFFC at 60° C. with 1 M KOOCH+2 M KOH as the anode fuel and electrolyte and oxygen at the cathode produces 144 mW cm?2 of peak power density, 181 mA cm?2 current density at 0.6 V, and an open circuit voltage of 0.931 V. This performance is competitive with alkaline direct liquid fuel cells (DLFCs) reported in the literature and demonstrates that formate fuel is a legitimate contender with alcohol fuels for alkaline DLFCs.