This paper introduces the special issue of this Journal dedicated to the "International Workshop on Molten Carbonates and Related Topics", IWMC2011. Molten carbonates are mostly known as electrolytes in molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs). Many advances have been reached in the last decade on the development of such electrochemical generators. MCFCs can be considered as a mature technology close to the real market. However, new materials and approaches are necessary to increase their performance and lower their costs. Lately, molten carbonates are also used for CO2 capture with ambitious industrial projects and a growing interest in many countries, in particular in Europe. Furthermore, molten carbonates are also seriously considered in direct carbon fuel cells (DCFCs), directly as electrolytes or as media to feed solid oxide fuel cells with solid carbon fuel. Noteworthy is the astonishing research activity on composite fuel cells combining molten carbonates with solid oxide fuel cells. All these promising topics and others are briefly described emphasising their novelty. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.