Structure for forming a solid oxide fuel cell stack

A solid oxide fuel cell system (10) comprising a plurality of electrochemically active fuel cell cassettes (14) connected in electrical series and bonded together by a plurality of glass seals to form a fuel cell stack (12). A dummy cassette (26) containing a thermocouple is disposed within the fuel cell stack (12). Each cassette (14) may have at least one alignment tab for receiving a rod (20) to maintain stack alignment during sintering, and each fuel cell cassette (14) has electrical terminals extending from a side of the stack for performance testing. The distribution manifold (16) is attached to stack (12), and a spring subassembly (18) is disposed against the stack (12) and is attached to the manifold (16) by tie rods (20) to maintain a compressive load on the stack (12) through sintering and subsequent use to prevent unloading and rupture of the glass seals.