Boron- and nitrogen-based chemical hydrides are expected to be potential hydrogen carriers for PEM fuel cells because of their high hydrogen contents. Significant efforts have been devoted to decrease their dehydrogenation and hydrogenation temperatures and enhance the reaction kinetics. This article presents an overview of the boron- and nitrogen-based compounds as hydrogen storage materials. (c) 2009 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.