Biogenic Formic Acid as a Green Hydrogen Carrier

Formic acid (FA) is an important platform chemical that has numerous applications in the chemical and agricultural industries, as well as in the leather industry. To date, FA is exclusively produced from fossil raw materials using either carbonylation of methanol or acidolysis of formates. Here, sustainable and environmentally friendly approaches to produce biogenic FA from biomass (e.g., OxFA-process) are presented and combined with different approaches for the catalytic decomposition of bio-based FA solutions. Several homogeneous and heterogeneous approaches for the catalytic decomposition of aqueous FA to hydrogen and CO2 are compared for their applicability. Moreover, their technical applications in fuel cells, as energy storage vectors, and as hydrogen storage molecules are discussed.