AbstractAn analysis of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow in the European Tauro blanket concept using ceramic wall material shows that even for poor conducting walls an electric coupling of neighboring channels is possible. Currents within the wall along the tangential direction remain negligible in comparison with those in the Hartmann layers or those crossing dividing walls. The flow structure and pressure drop is evaluated for the designed geometry for both cases, for perfect insulation of the walls and for finite wall-normal conductance. It is shown that the increase of pressure drop with the wall-normal conductivity is not really a crucial issue. However, the results show that the flow pattern may become unfavorable for heat transfer when the wall-normal electric conductivity exceeds a critical value.