Patent ID: 7736772

Claim:
A fuel cell stack comprising (a) a plurality of tubular fuel cells, each fuel cell comprising an inner electrode layer, an outer electrode layer, and an electrolyte layer sandwiched between the inner and outer electrode layers; and, (b) a continuous solid phase porous matrix in which the fuel cells are embedded, the matrix material being selected from the group consisting of: lanthanum strontium manganate, La 1−x Sr x CrO 3 , La 1−x Ca x CrO 3 , La 1−x Mg x Cro 3 , LaCr(Mg)O 3 , LaCa 1−x Cr y O 3 , stainless steel 316 and 316L, Ni-Yittria stabilized zirconia, Ni and doped zirconia cermet, Ni doped —CeO 2 cermet, Cu doped-ceria cermet, silver-(Bi—Sr—Ca—Cu—O)-oxide cermet, silver-(Y—Ba—Cu—O)-oxide cermet; silver-alloy-(Bi—Sr—Ca—Cu—O)-oxide cermet; silver-alloy-(Y—Ba—Cu—O)-oxide cermet; silver and its alloys, Inconel steel and any super alloy, ferritic steel, SiC, and MoSi 2 ; wherein a first reactant is flowable through the matrix and to the outer electrode layer of at least one of the fuel cells, and a second reactant is flowable through the inside of at least one of the fuel cells and to the inner electrode thereof.