Chapter 22: Valorisation of Carbon Dioxide via Enzymatic Transformation

The level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere has now reached 420 ppm and new methods are necessary to help combat global warming and climate change. Formate dehydrogenases (FDHs) are microbial enzymes that have a natural capability to convert CO₂ to formate (HCO₂⁻) via reversible redox catalysis. Formate is a commodity chemical, and can be reduced further enzymatically to formaldehyde and methanol, but it is the FDH-catalyzed conversion of CO₂ that is the key step towards valorisation of CO₂ to chemicals. This chapter will focus on the recent progress and understanding of the function of FDHs and discuss critical features in relation to their efficient use in practical CO₂ reduction.