We report the high-performance direct formate-peroxide fuel cells (DFPFCs) that consist of a cation-exchange membrane sandwiched between an alkaline formate anode and an acid peroxide cathode. Much attention has been paid to investigate the effects of different composite parameters and operating parameters, including catalyst loadings at both anode and cathode electrodes, operating temperatures, as well as the concentrations of both formate and electrolyte solutions. It is demonstrated that the optimization of both the electrode composition (anode 2.0 mg(Pd) cm(-2), cathode 2.0 mg(Pt) cm(-2)) and the solution concentration (1.0 M HCOONa-3.0 M NaOH) enables the DFPFC to yield a peak power density as high as 591 mW cm(-2) at 60 degrees C, which is about one times higher than that of state-of-the-art anion-exchange membrane direct formate fuel cells. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.