An imaging technology for fuel cells is based on x-ray microscopy. A metrology system images the electro-chemical interaction areas of solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC) in-situ. This system takes advantage of both the penetrating power and elemental absorption contrast of hard x-ray radiation to image the internal interaction areas in a SOFC. The technology can further take advantage of the strong dependence of the x-ray absorption on material type and energy to distinguish the four major material types: cathode, electrolyte, air, and low-Z contaminants such as sulfur.