A 1kW Cylindrical Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell F. Rossi 1 , U. Di Matteo 2 , A. Nicolini 1 1 University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy 2 Universit Telematica Guglielmo Marconi, Roma, Italy Introduction An original cylindrical Small Size Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (SSMCFC) was presented [1-3]. The cell main peculiarity is the original architecture which involves both elements geometry and gases arrangements. High benefits are obtained by the proposed configuration. Higher mechanical stability is now obtained by an innovative cell configuration. An innovative tie system was designed and realized. Cell elements (electrodes, electrolyte and distribution plates) are placed into a cylindrical vessel. Sealing is enhanced and compression strain is further kept uniform along cell surface by the tie system and an original stacking frame. The original system contributes also to reduce heat losses. Tests are carried out on a 1kW stack constituted by 15 single cells. Voltage/current characteristic is obtained at different working conditions. Maximum power density was also evaluated. Tests were carried out by realizing a control and monitoring system for SSMCFC. New methodologies were proposed to optimize cell realization times and reduce industrialization costs: the target customer and the target price were established by an economical study. Results confirm the cell design as a promising solution for CHP applications because of performances, durability and low costs. SSMCFC Development Chronology A cylindrical Small Size Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (SSMCFC) was patented [4]. The proposed new geometry for SSMCFC was analyzed by thermofluidodynamic simulations which verified the suitability of the proposed cell design solutions [1]. Materials, treatments and procedures suitable for SSMCFCs were investigated by manufacturing a single cell facility which was used as test bench (see Fig. 1-a) [2]. The single cell facility was constituted by a single MCFC, exhaust and inlet manifolds, a frame for cell elements stacking and a heating system. The individuated materials and procedures were tested on a cylindrical Molten Carbonate Single Cell (see Fig. 1-b) [3]. Figure 1  a) SSMCFC single cell facility [2]; b) a SSMCFC configuration [3] Cylindrical elements were obtained by a new injection printing patented technique which may be conveniently used for large scale productions because of time and cost advantages. Moreover, the proposed cylindrical configuration produced lower heat losses because of high volume with respect to surface. The original gases arrangement was attained by stacking circular holed thin steel rings. Tests were carried out to determine voltage/current characteristic at different conditions: with and without steam into cathodic compartment at several times along cell lifetime. Cell resuming a) b)