The interfacial adhesion strength between the oxide scale and the substrate is crucial to the reliability and durability of metallic interconnects in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating environments. It is necessary, therefore, to establish a methodology to quantify the interfacial adhesion strength between the oxide scale and the metallic interconnect substrate, and furthermore to design and optimize the interconnect material as well as the coating materials to meet the design life of an SOFC system. In this paper, we present an integrated experimental/analytical methodology for quantifying the interfacial adhesion strength between the oxide scale and a ferritic stainless steel interconnect. Stair-stepping indentation tests are used in conjunction with subsequent finite element analyses to predict the interfacial strength between the oxide scale and Crofer 22 APU substrate. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.