A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) based combined heat and power (CHP) system in the power range of 1 kWe fed by pure hydrogen stored in a MgH2 tank thermally integrated with the SOFC is presented. Different system configurations were first simulated to compare the system performances in each case. An experimental setup specially designed to test the thermal integration of a magnesium hydride tank with a 1 kWe SOFC stack is fully described. The difficulties encountered during the coupling tests are useful to understand how to solve these technical issues. Copyright (C) 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.